By Aderogba George
The African Union Development Agency New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) Nigeria has commended the off season election in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa states, and adjudged it as free and fair.
The agency at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday stated that its submission was based on the situation report gathered from its staff deployed to the field to monitor the election.
Mr Goodluck Oyinvwi, Deputy Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, AUDA-NEPAD said that the submission about the election was also based on observation from the agency situation room.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that AUDA-NEPAD assessment of the election arose from its African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
However, Oyinvwi said that all the situation reports the agency gathered from the three states of Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa where the election took place were all commendable.
According to him, few days before the election, AUDA-NEPAD organised a capacity building training for staff deployed to the field on what they should observed and other do and don’t about elections.
He said they were also thought on how to conduct themselves while on the field during the election, adding that the report that were coming in was in line with what they were told to observed.
“All the reports we have been getting from the three states where the election held has been so good, they have not really reported any case of incident of violence.
“What they have been saying is that everything is going on well and calm, the election materials came as at when due, the election started at 8:30 a.m in the three states.
“We were envisaging that there might be voter apathy, but with situation report from our staff on the field, most people came out for the election and they voted,
our staff are waiting for the vote to be counted.
“The report from the field also shows that there were enough security men on ground in the three states. We are yet to confirm any report of shooting in any of the three states.
“So far from the field, all the report we have been getting along with our other stakeholders in this situation room has been very fair, no report on any grey areas,” he stressed.
Oyinvwi said that the agency was not envisaging any problem during the central collation of result, adding that corpers who were adhoc staff for the election all conducted themselves transparently, as well as party agents.
Mr Yinka Adelakun, the Directing Staff, National Institute for Security Studies (NISS) who also monitored the election along with other staff of the institute in the AUDA-NEPAD situation room scored the election as free and fair from situation report.
According to him, the voting commenced 8:30 a.m as stipulated by the electoral law.
He said that the areas where election materials were distributed late was due to bad tarrain of the areas and other logistics, adding that the whole process was commendable.
“There are present of security agent almost at everywhere, few of our agent that we have spoke to have confirm that security present were felt across all the polling unit and strategic places.
“So with this report, we can say that the security situation is rich, from the feelers we have gotten from the AUDA-NEPAD field agent.
“Although, there were some pocket of citing of thugs in some of the polling units, but the attention of the security agent were drawn to that and they were able to contain the situation.
”In general, the election process is commendable.,” he said.(NAN)