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Nigeria Elections 2023: It is election Eve. In less than 15 hours, the country with the highest population in the continent will be lining up, in the different polling stations to elect their next president. The campaign for presidential and National Assembly elections commenced on September 28, 2022, while that of governorship and state houses of assembly commenced on October 12, 2022.
Thursday, 23 February, was the final day of campaigning for the presidential, senate, and parliamentary elections. The campaign period ended with an appeal to calmness.
Tense Campaigns
Nigeria Elections 2023: Nigeria’s elections have been marked by violence, ethnic tensions, vote-buying, and clashes between supporters of rival parties, for instance, fighting broke out in the northwestern city of Kano on Thursday when mobs attacked supporters of Rabiu Kwankwaso, a former Kano governor and a presidential candidate for the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
The signing of the Peace accord
The main four candidates in the presidential race signed a peace accord on Wednesday, in a bid to ensure a free and peaceful election (Nigeria Elections 2023). The AU observer mission led by former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta witnessed the signing of the second peace accord by Nigeria’s 18 presidential candidates ahead of Nigeria Elections 2023.
Others who observed the signing of the Wednesday accord included former South African president Thambo Mbeki, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Janet Scotland, and former Malawian president Joyce Banda.
Also present were the European Union (EU) ambassador to Nigeria Samuela Isopi and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
The pact binds all political parties to accept the outcome of the Nigeria Elections 2023 or to seek legitimate means of redress in the event of divergent positions.
ALSO READ: Nigeria Elections 2023: What You Need to Understand.
Nigeria shuts borders
Nigeria has shut its land borders and restricted traffic movement across the country ahead of Saturday’s Nigeria Elections 2023. The federal government on Thursday directed the total closure of all land borders ahead of Saturday’s presidential poll which is being held synchronously with the National Assembly elections.
The Comptroller General for the National Immigration Service (NIS) Isah Jere said that all land borders were to be effectively closed from midnight on Saturday to midnight on Sunday, February 26.
“Accordingly, all command comptrollers especially those in the Border States are to ensure strict enforcement of this directive,” he said.
Vehicular Movement Restrictions
The country has also banned vehicular movement from 12 am to 6 pm on Saturday. The order was in line with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police Alkali Usman Baba.
Only officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), electoral observers, ambulances, firefighters, and others on confirmed emergency services would be considered.
“There will be no movement or escort of VIPs throughout the election period, while state security outfits are not allowed to take part in the exercise,”
the police said.
As the nation takes necessary precautions for hitch-free elections, INEC has started moving all sensitive materials to the 774 local government areas.
Combating Fake News
INEC has warned politicians to be wary of fake social media posts after voting and prior to the official declaration of the Nigeria Elections 2023’s result by the commission.
At the same time, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has ordered broadcasting stations across the nation to desist from announcing Nigeria Elections 2023’s results after voting until INEC has made a formal announcement.
NBC also urged all broadcasters to adhere to the ethics and codes of the commission by stopping the Nigeria Elections 2023 campaign commercials 24 hours prior to election day.
INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu said there are a total of 176,606 polling units in the country where the general election will be carried out.
He revealed that voters assigned to new polling units will receive text messages informing them where to cast their votes, adding that the commission has made it easier for voters to locate their polling units.
Nigerian Politician arrested
A Nigerian politician has been arrested for alleged money laundering after being caught with $498,100 (£414,000) in cash a day before the Nigeria Elections 2023. The wads of US dollars were found by police inside Chinyere Igwe’s car.
Mr. Igwe, an opposition PDP member of the House of Representatives, was also caught with a list of people to give the money to, police say.
In previous elections, politicians have been accused of rigging polls through vote buying. Nigeria has recently issued new banknotes, partly in order to make it harder for politicians to amass large sums of money in order to bribe voters.
In a Twitter thread, police in Rivers State, where Mr. Igwe was arrested, urged “all contestants and political parties to comply strictly with provisions of the Electoral Act and other relevant laws”.
Insecurity
Nigerians have endured serious a variety of serious security threats for decades now, something that is a source of concern for political leaders and the international community ahead of the elections.
For the last 10 years, the militant group, Boko Haram has waged an insurgency, with Nigeria’s Northern Region at its epicenter. Northwest and Central Nigeria have also witnessed waves of kidnappings, in addition to incessant clashes between farmers and herders. Eastern Nigeria has not been spared from the Islamist insurgency.
There had been concerns that it might not be possible to hold the Nigeria Elections 2023 in parts of the country, which is facing an Islamist insurgency in the north-east, a nationwide kidnapping-for-ransom crisis, and a separatist insurgency in the south-east.
The killing of a Senatorial candidate
A senatorial candidate for the opposition Labour Party, Oyibo Chukwu, was killed on Wednesday in the south-eastern Enugu State while he was returning from the campaign trail. Police have blamed the separatist group Ipob for the killings. Ipob has not yet commented.
Police confirmed the killing, which came hours after the parties and presidential candidates signed a pledge to support a peaceful electoral process ahead of Saturday’s general election.
A spokesperson for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Enugu said it had the power under electoral law to suspend a poll in the event of a candidate’s death and set a new date within 14 days. However, he said processes had to be followed and no decision had been made yet in this case.
Uncollected voter cards
On Thursday Inec revealed that a total of 87.2 million voter cards had been collected. More than 93 million people had registered to vote, which means that some six million people had not managed to collect their cards and so would not be able to cast their ballots.
There have been reports of people saying they were unable to collect their cards. There was one case of voter cards reportedly being dumped in a bush, only to be discovered by a hunter.
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