…Also ‘induced residents with Jollof rice’

The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has raised concerns over alleged voter inducement during the August 15 Osun State governorship election, reporting that jollof rice and drinks were shared at a polling unit in an incident that caused disorderliness.

The coalition also alleged that politicians took vote trading to another level during the election, with voters reportedly offered as much as N50,000 per vote.

The Co-Convener of the Situation Room, Mma Odi, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while presenting the coalition’s final statement on the Osun governorship election.

The coalition said it deployed observers across all 30 Local Government Areas of Osun State, while partner organisations, including CLEEN Foundation, the Centre for Democracy and Development and Kimpact Development Initiative, deployed more than 300 accredited observers.

According to the Situation Room, its observers recorded various forms of voter inducement across the state, ranging from food and drinks to alleged direct cash payments and the collection of voters’ details by party agents.

The coalition said the sharing of jollof rice and drinks was observed at Polling Unit 008, Ward 6, Isokan Local Government Area, where the development reportedly caused disorderliness.

Odi, who described the level of vote trading as worrying, said, “They took vote trading to another level. N50,000 per vote.”

She warned that the development should not be overlooked ahead of the 2027 general elections, saying political actors seeking to manipulate the electoral process could learn from the weaknesses exposed during the Osun election and devise new strategies.

“The election should not make us to sleep because people who want to rig will go back to the drawing board to see how they can manipulate the process ahead of the 2027 election,” she said.

The Situation Room’s final statement cited several other incidents of alleged vote buying and voter inducement across the state.

At Alapomu 1, Odo-Osun Health Office, Polling Unit 006, Isekan Local Government Area, party agents reportedly called voters to a corner after they had voted and ticked their names on a voters’ list.

In Irepodun LGA, Ward 2, Polling Unit 7, vote buying was also reported, with observers alleging that voters wrote their names with certain party agents after casting their ballots.

Similarly, at Modakeke 1, Ward 08, Ife East LGA, at a polling unit located at Community Grammar School, Toro Road, the coalition reported alleged vote trading across party lines.

According to the Situation Room, after voting, some voters reportedly displayed signs indicating their preferred parties, following which party agents recorded their names and telephone numbers and provided them with tags.

The coalition said the incidents demonstrated the continued threat posed by vote buying to the credibility of elections, describing the practice as a direct assault on voters’ freedom of choice.

Despite the reported incidents, Odi commended Osun voters for their participation, saying citizens played an important role in protecting the integrity of the election.

“We observed that the citizens tried. They voted, watched their vote and followed the results to ward, LG and state collation centre. The citizens made a difference in Osun State,” she said.

The Situation Room said the election was generally peaceful, with voters largely able to exercise their franchise without widespread disruption.

It particularly commended security agencies for maintaining a peaceful environment despite the tense political atmosphere preceding the election.

The coalition, however, raised concerns over technical challenges involving the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, particularly the system’s difficulty recognising elderly voters through facial authentication.

Odi said the issue required urgent attention from INEC to prevent a recurrence in future elections.

“This lack of facial authentication of elderly people, I think they need to address this because they will keep having this issue. We will meet the INEC chairman,” she said.

The coalition said the challenges were particularly problematic at polling units with large numbers of registered voters where only one BVAS device was reportedly available, resulting in prolonged waiting times and congestion.

The Situation Room also linked delays in the opening of polls in some areas to the late addition of the Social Democratic Party candidate to the ballot following a Federal High Court judgment delivered on July 22.

Odi, while comparing the Osun election with the Ekiti governorship election, said the judicial judgment affected the distribution of INEC personnel and materials.

The coalition said the late addition of the candidate required INEC to reproduce ballot papers and result sheets, with the late production reportedly delaying the arrival and distribution of sensitive materials in some locations.

On electronic transmission of results, the Situation Room said the upload of polling unit results to INEC’s Result Viewing Portal progressed significantly after voting commenced.

It said the first upload was observed at about 3:49pm on August 15, while 98.43 per cent of results had been uploaded on IReV as of August 16.

Odi also expressed doubts about the willingness of the current National Assembly to pass legislation establishing an Electoral Offences Commission.

“This current National Assembly don’t care about the citizens but about themselves. I don’t think they will pass this Electoral Offences Commission,” she said.

The coalition urged security agencies to strengthen the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of electoral offences, particularly vote buying, intimidation and violence.

It specifically called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to work with other security agencies to strengthen mechanisms for tackling electoral offences relating to vote buying.
Calls for post-election audit ahead of 2027

The Situation Room urged INEC to conduct a comprehensive post-election audit of the Osun election and other recent off-cycle polls ahead of the 2027 general elections.