After more than one year of posturing, and preparations the stage is finally set and the die is cast.
Nigeria will hold her historic seventh democratic transition polls today.
One woman is contesting the presidential election as 17 men lock horns in the battle to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, who will complete his second term on May 29, 2023.
Princess Chichi Ojei, the presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement, APM, is the only woman in a crowd of 36 presidential and vice presidential standard bearers.
Apart from the presidential election, there will also be battle for the nation’s 109 senatorial districts and 360 House of
Representatives seats. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has cleared 1101 senatorial and 3122 House of Representatives candidates for the election. However, there will be no senatorial election in Enugu East, where the Labour Party,
LP, Candidate, Mr. Oyibo Chukwu, was assassinated by gunmen, last Wednesday.
Section 34 (1) and (3) of the Electoral Act, 2022 provides that if a candidate dies before the elections begin, the elections will be rescheduled within 14 days by the INEC to enable the affected party replace the dead candidate.
in spite of insecurity concerns following series of violence and killings that trailed the campaigns, and attacks on INEC’s facilities, the Police and the electoral commission have declared their readiness to conduct free, fair and violence free polls.
Already, the Police have deployed 310,973 personnel across the over 176,000 polling units where voting will take place.
Polling Units
Nigeria has 176,846 polling units but elections would only take place in 176,606 as 240 of the total figure have no registered voters according to the INEC.
Readiness of electoral umpire
The INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood, said the commission had recovered from the recent 50 attacks on its facilities and is set for the elections.
Police riot act
The Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, has ordered restriction of vehicular movement on roads, waterways, and other forms of transportation from 6am to 6pm today except for those on essential duties.
The IG said the Police would ensure public order management, safety of the electorate, as well as assist security agencies in effective policing, thereby preventing hoodlums and criminally-minded elements from disrupting the electoral process.
87.2 m voters to decide Atiku, Tinubu, Obi, others’ fate
From a voters’ list of 93.469 million, only 87.209 million voters will are eligible to vote today. They were those who collected their Permanent Voters Cards, PVCs, before the deadline to do so ended on February 5, according to the INEC.
Among the 18 candidates jostling to succeed President Buhari are Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC; Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP; Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP; and Senator Rabiu Kwakwanso of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP.
Others include Prince Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party, SDP; Mr. Dumebi Kaachikwu of the African Democratic Congress, ADC; Chief Kola Abiola of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP; and Mr. Omoyele Sowere of the African Actin Congress, AAC.
Also in theerace are Felix Osakwe, National Rescue Movement NRM; Prof Peter Umeadi, All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA; Dan Nwanyanwu, Zenith Labour Party, ZLP; Oluwafemi Adenuga, Boot Party, BP; Christopher Imumolen, Accord; Hamza Al-Mustapha, Action Alliance, AA; Sani Yabagi Yusuf, African Democratic Party, ADP; Malik Ibrahim Ado, Young Progressive Party, YPP; and Osita Nnadi, Action People’s Party, APP.
Worries over BVAS
A key feature of today’s election is the use of Bimodal Voters Accreditation System, BVAS, to authentic voters’ PVCs
The INEC has insisted on using BVAS
With the introduction of BVAS, balloting may drag into the night today.
Reports from the February 4 mock accredidation of voters by INEC in 436 polling units across the country showed that it took two to three minutes to accredit a voter. At two minutes per voter, 30 voters will be accredited in one hour and 300 voters in 10 hours.
So if INEC officials arrive on time today and begin the exercise at 8am 300 voters will be accredited by 6pm using one BVAS. With two BVAS, 300 voters may be accredited in five hours. Sorting, counting and announcement of the results of the presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives polls may take two hours or more. So, if voters turnout is impressive, the election may drag into the night and the INEC must make arrangements for power supply or torch lights.
Poor run of women
Only one woman is on the presidential ballot in spite of women’s fresh push for more accommodation for women in the political arena.
Women were not on the radar in 1999, when only two candidates, General Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic, PDP, and Chief Olu Falae of the Alliance for Democracy, AD/All Peoples Party, APP, slugged it out with Obasanjo emerging the winner.
However, women were on the ballot in 2003, which so far remains their best attempt at occupying Aso Villa. Of the 20 presidential candidates, two were women – Mrs Sarah Jubril of the Progressive Action Congress, PAC, and Major Mojisola Adekunle Obasanjo, retd, of the Masses Movement of Nigeria, MMN. While Major Obasanjo polled 3,757 votes at that election, Mrs Jubril scored 157,560 votes, the highest any woman has ever got in a presidential election in the country.
Ever since, the fortunes of women have been dwindling at the presidential polls. In a pool of 27 candidates in 2007, there was only one woman – Major Obasanjo, who garnered a miserly 4,309 votes.
In 2011, with 63 political parties in which 20 parties fielded candidates, there was also only one woman – Ebiti Ndok of the United National Party for Development, UNPD, who polled 21,2017 votes. Mrs. Sarah Jubril’s efforts to be on the ballot did not yield dividend. She got one vote at the PDP presidential primary.
In 2015, the poor run of women continued. Mrs. Oluremi Sonaiya, was the only female in a crowd of 14 presidential standard bearers and she got 13,076 votes.
In 2019, in a crowd of 73 presidential candidates, there were six women, the highest so far in the history of electioneering in Nigeria. However, the women fared badly polling altogether 25,594 votes in a contest that President Buhari polled 15,191,847 of the total votes cast while his closest opponent, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP got 11,262,978 votes, an astonishing victory margin of 3,928,869 votes.
The women who part in the 2019 election were Mrs Oby Ezekwesili (ACPN, 7,223 votes); Angela Johnson (AUN, 1,092 votes); Olufunmilayo Adesanya-Davies (MAJA, 2,651 votes); Eunice Atuejide (NIP, 2,248 votes); Rabia Yasai Hassan Cengiz (NAC, 2,279); and Maina Maimuna Kyari (NPC, 10,081 votes).
The gains made by women in the last five electoral cycles appeared to have been eroded in 2023 with only one woman standing