Civil society observers monitoring the Federal Capital Territory area council elections have raised alarms over widespread vote buying, with payments reaching up to N10,000 per voter in some polling units, alongside delays in commencing the exercise that averaged 9:15 a.m.
across many sites.
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, a coalition comprising over 70 organisations dedicated to promoting credible polls, issued an interim report on Saturday highlighting these issues based on field observations from its network deployed throughout the territory.
“In a few places, it was done openly in polling units such as PU008, 056, 057, and 058 in Gidan Mangoro Ward of AMAC, where votes were traded for as much as N10,000 each. In some other places, vote buying was discreet but still observed,” the report stated.
While noting timely arrivals and early voting in areas like Kwali Area Council, the group pointed to late openings elsewhere due to delayed Independent National Electoral Commission personnel and materials.
“In places like Kwali Area Council, INEC personnel and materials arrived on time, and voting began early. While we acknowledge the timely opening of polls in a very few voting locations, we note late openings in many others, owing to the late arrival of INEC staff and materials,” the Situation Room added.
