Fears of large scale manipulation have cast a shadow over Saturday?s by elections in Edo and Kaduna States, as opposition parties and election monitors allege prewritten results in Government House, deployment of ?notorious? INEC officials, plans to use the police to lock out agents from collation centres, and the recruitment of thousands of armed thugs to intimidate voters. While the ruling party has denied wrongdoing, the allegations have ignited concerns that the August 16 polls could become another flashpoint for Nigeria?s crisis of electoral trust.

In Abuja, the Coalition of Observer Groups in Nigeria has expressed deep concern over what it described as credible reports of plans to undermine the Edo Central Senatorial District and Ovia Federal Constituency elections by the APC. In a statement signed by the group?s chairman, Comrade Simon Diogu, the coalition warned that tactics similar to those alleged during the September 2024 governorship election, including the unlawful preparation of duplicate result sheets before collation and the use of the police to harass and intimidate opposition party members and voters, could resurface.

The September 2024 governorship election left what the group called a lingering crisis of confidence after allegations of duplicate results and questionable collation practices went unresolved by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The coalition cautioned that any repetition of such acts would further erode public trust in the electoral system and would pose a growing threat to the stability of Nigeria?s democracy.

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that results are being written in Government House ahead of Saturday?s vote. He further claimed that ?squadrons of police will be brought in on Friday to prevent us from entering the collation centre on Saturday.?

The PDP chieftain also raised alarm over the perceived deployment of two controversial INEC officials from Rivers State, Suleiman Blessing, Electoral Officer for Ovia North East, and Williams Alamina, Electoral Officer for Ovia South West, both of whom, he alleged, ?played very uncomfortable roles during the September 2024 Edo State governorship elections.?

?This is what INEC, APC and the Police did during the governorship elections last year and they want to do the same thing again. If they succeed then Nigerians should just forget about elections in 2027 as they will do the same thing then ask us to go to court,? he said.

The coalition urged Governor Monday Okpebholo, whose home constituency is Edo Central, to publicly condemn alleged threats made by his supporters against opposition candidates on social media, and to guarantee peaceful, violence free elections in his capacity as the state?s Chief Security Officer.

In Kaduna State, the African Democratic Congress and the Social Democratic Party have accused the state?s APC led government of assembling a massive operation to sabotage the by elections, distort the process and steal the elections.

The two parties, contesting in Chikun Kajuru Federal Constituency and state constituencies in Sabon Gari and Zaria, alleged that about 4,000 thugs have been recruited from within and outside Kaduna to intimidate voters and opposition party officials at polling units and collation centres.

They further claimed that senior INEC officials and technical staff are being compromised with inducements, including allocations of land, and that each of the state?s 23 local government councils has been compelled to contribute N30 million to an election sabotage fund. An additional N4.8 billion, they alleged, has been provided from Abuja for vote buying, bribing electoral officers and corrupting security agents.

The coalition of the two parties named a serving Commissioner for Local Government Affairs and a disgraced former senator notorious for orchestrating electoral violence as key figures in the alleged plot.

Both in Edo and Kaduna, opposition groups and election monitors have called on INEC to act swiftly to protect the integrity of the process, including replacing allegedly compromised officials, ensuring open and verifiable collation, and guaranteeing security for voters and party agents.

Neither INEC nor the Nigerian Police have responded to these allegations. (Daily Independent)

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