The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR) has lamented the level of voter inducement during Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State.

The election monitoring group, comprised of a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs), decried that voters were induced with money ranging from N5,000 to N10,000 per voter and snacks during the exercise.

“The price of votes ranged from ₦5,000 to ₦10,000 per voter in several locations, including PU08 and 09 Ward 2, Owan-East LGA; PU 02 Ward 2, Etsako-West LGA; and several polling units in Egor, Oredo and Owan-West LGAs. In some cases, voters were also induced with food items such as bread and ‘Gala’,” it stated in a report co-signed by Yunusa Z. Ya’u, Mimidoo Achakpa, and Franklin Oloniju.

The group said that only about 50 per cent of electoral officials arrived at the polling units at the scheduled time for the election, adding that polls were opened at the regular hour of 8:30 a.m. in only 48.4 per cent of the centres visited.

However, it noted that in some isolated locations, electoral officials arrived as early as 7:00 a.m., particularly Maria Goretti Girls Secondary School in Ward 6, Ikpoba Okha LGA, and PU 29 in Ward 7 of Esan-West LGA.

“However, in many other locations, poll officials and materials had not arrived as at 9:00 a.m. For example, polling units 7 and 8 Eweka Secondary School, Ward 10, and Egor LGA were among those affected.

“Furthermore, at the Super Registration Area Centre (Super RAC) in Ogbe Primary School, Oredo LGA, poll officials and materials had not left the Super RAC as at 9:00 a.m. as observers reported that many ad-hoc staff refused to sleep over at the RAC due to fears of possible attacks.

“We note that some polling units in locations such as Egor, Oredo, Ikpoba Okha, Etsako-West, Owan-West, and Esan Central LGAs experienced widespread delays due to the heavy rainfall in these locations,” the group stated.

It saluted the security agencies for being professional at the polling units, with no reports of intimidation of voters.

The group added, “However, despite their presence, our observers noted widespread instances of vote buying, carried out openly in many voting locations.”

“We, however, acknowledge the arrest of the alleged two vote traders in George Idah primary school, Ward 2, Oredo LGA.”

It also observed that party agents were not evenly distributed during the election, stressing that the APC has 41 per cent in distribution; the Labour Party,13 per cent; PDP, 25 per cent, while the PRP recorded five per cent and other parties recorded less than two per cent.

The group condemned the spread of fake news, which, according to its report, contributed to confusion among voters and heightened tension at several polling locations.