1 EDO STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION REPORT 2020 2020 Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room All Rights Reserved Situation Room Secretariat: c/o Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) Plot 451 Gambo Jimeta Crescent, Guzape District, Abuja, Nigeria Telephone: 09095050505, 09032999919 Website: http://situationroom.placng.org Facebook: facebook.com/situationroomnigeria Twitter: @situationroomng TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Background Information on Edo State 1 Legal Framework for the 2020 Governorship Election 2 Electoral Statistics 3 Political Environment 4 Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic 6 PRE-ELECTION ACTIVITIES 7 Situation Room Pre-Election Activities 7 Governorship Debate 8 Political Party Primaries 8 Candidate Swap by the Two Major Parties 11 Election Campaign 11 Preparation by INEC 12 Registration of Voters and Collection of PVCs 14 Recruitment and Training of Ad hoc Staff 14 Briefing for Election Stakeholders 15 Distribution of Election Materials and Other Logistics 15 Signing of The Peace Accord 16 Preparation by Security Agents 16 State of Security 17 ELECTION DAY OBSERVATION 19 Structure and Observation Methodology 19 Ward Collation Observation 19 Deployment of Observers 20 Arrival of INEC Officials and Commencement of Voting 20 Turnout and Conduct of Voters 21 Presence and Conduct of Party Agents 21 Election Day Security 21 Collation Process 22 POST ELECTION OBSERVATION 23 Vote Tabulation and Declaration of Results 23 Reactions of Political Parties and Candidates 23 Resolution of Conflicts 24 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 25 APPENDIX 27 GALLERY 39 INTRODUCTION Background Information on Edo State Edo State was created on 27th August 1991 out of the old Bendel State, by the Military Government of General Ibrahim Babangida. The State shares borders with Kogi State to the North East, Anambra State to the East, Delta State to the South and Ondo State to the West. The capital of Edo State is Benin City, which was the capital city of the former Mid- Western region of Nigeria created in 1963 and later renamed Bendel State in 19761. Benin City is also the seat of the ancient Benin kingdom an d is widely known for its cultural artefacts and rich history. The State has an estimated population of 4,235,595 people as at 20162, spread across eighteen (18) Local Government Areas and a total landmass of 19,187 square kilometers. Edo State is mostly comprised of three main ethnic groups, namely Bini, Esan and Afemai. Economic activities of the people include trading, production of wood, rubber and timber, as well as farming. Edo State is also rich in mineral resources like limestone, crude oil and natural gas, clay chalk, marbles and lignite. 1 Wikipedia. Retrieved on 7th July 2020 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_State 2 Nigeria Population Commission and National of Bureau of Statistics Estimates. Retrieved on the 7th July 2020 from file:///Users/plac/Downloads/Population%20Forecasts.pdf 1 Edo State is comprised of eighteen (18) Local Government Areas, namely: Akoko Edo Etsako Central Ovia South- Esan North-East Etsako East West Esan Central Etsako West Ovia North-East Esan West Igueben Orhionwon Esan South East Ikpoba-Okha Owan East Egor Oredo Owan West Uhunmwonde Right after the April 2007 general elections in Nigeria, election into the office of Governor in Edo State has been conducted as an off-cycle poll, following the judgment of the Court of Appeal on 11th November 2008, upholding the decision of the Election Petition Tribunal that overturned INEC’s declaration of Oserheimen Osunbor as winner of the 2007 gubernatorial poll, and declaring Adams Oshiomole governor of the State. The September 2020 election will be the third off-cycle governorship election in the State since that judicial intervention. Legal Framework for the 2020 Governorship Election The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and Rules, Regulations, Guidelines and Manuals made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), all guide the conduct of elections in Nigeria. Section 176 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended) creates the office of the Governor of a State. The Governor of a State shall be elected for a term of four years (section 180 of the Constitution). By the provisions of Section 178 (1 & 2) of the Constitution and section 25 (7 & 8) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), election into the office of a State Governor shall not be conducted earlier than one hundred and fifty days and not later than thirty days to the date of the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent. In accordance with these provisions, INEC scheduled the 2020 Edo State governorship election for 19th September 2020. The tenure of the incumbent Governor, Godwin Obaseki, will expire on 11th November 2020, by when he would have spent four years at the helm of affairs of the State. 2 Electoral Statistics Edo State has a total of 2,210,534 registered voters out of which 1,726,738 voters have collected their permanent voter’s card (PVC), leaving 483,796 PVCs uncollected. Below are statistics of Registration Areas (RAs), Polling Units (PUs) and Voting Points (PVs) in the State: VOTING S/N LGA NO of RAs NO of PUs POINTS 1. Akoko Edo 10 143 343 2. Egor 10 170 549 3. Esan Central 10 90 139 4. Esan North East 11 104 196 5. Esan South East 10 100 166 6. Esan West 10 114 240 7. Etsako Central 10 79 130 8. Etsako East 10 89 192 9. Etsako West 12 140 385 10. Igueben 10 48 96 11. Ikpoba Okha 10 340 840 12. Oredo 12 357 856 13. Orhionmwon 12 208 305 14. Ovia North East 13 144 341 15. Ovia South West 10 100 235 16. Owan East 11 160 222 17. Owan West 11 150 166 18. Uhunmwode 10 91 182 3 TOTAL 192 2,627 5,583 Source: INEC 2019 General Election Information kit Political Environment The atmosphere ahead of the September 19, 2020 governorship election in Edo State was mostly characterised by political party intrigues and health concerns, following the outbreak of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The election would become the first major election to be conducted in Nigeria amidst a pandemic. It seemed that the tense atmosphere that preceded the 2016 governorship election in the State was recreated in 2020, as Inflammatory rhetoric and threats of violence by political parties and their supporters raised serious concerns, and drew the attention of election stakeholders beyond Edo State, to the national and international levels. Although 14 candidates were participating in the election, the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osagie Ize-Iyamu and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Godwin Obaseki seemed to be the most vociferous in stoking the fires and threats of violence. The internal rancour within the two leading political parties in the State, the APC and the PDP made this even more rife, particularly in the light of the agitations within the APC in the State and subsequently, at the national level. The issues in the then ruling APC in Edo State, began well before the governorship election and festered up until the election. In the lead up to the 2019 general elections, there were conflicts among APC party leaders in Edo State, particularly between the incumbent Governor of the State, Godwin Obaseki and his predecessor, Adams Oshiomole who was the National Chairman of the party at the time. Both men were battling for supremacy in the State. The Governor had literally been handpicked by Oshiomhole in 2016 to succeed him. This battle between the incumbent governor and his godfather soon created a division among members of the party. Following the 2019 general elections and the subsequent inauguration of the 9th Assembly in Edo State in June 2019, the Clerk of the Edo State House of Assembly inaugurated only 12 members-elect and declared others absent, creating a crisis among the lawmakers. The crisis deepened when the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Francis Okiye in December 2019, declared the seats of the other 12 lawmakers and two inaugurated lawmakers, representing Oredo East and Owan East State Constituencies, vacant for not meeting the mandatory seating requirement. This brought the number of 4 recognised lawmakers in the Assembly to 10 out of 24 elected members, despite all of them being from the same party- the ruling APC, at the time. The 14 affected lawmakers were said to be loyal to Adams Oshiomhole with the other 10 being loyal to the incumbent Governor, Godwin Obaseki. The State leadership of the party was not left out in the intrigues. In November 2019, the APC reportedly sacked some members of the State Executives who were allegedly loyal to the State Governor and this culminated in the opening of a factional secretariat office of the Party in the State. This also resulted in party members seeking different judicial interventions in the matter. By June 2020, when the governorship primaries were billed to take place, the crisis in the APC was manifesting on two fronts – one, the struggle for the control of the party at the national level and two, who emerges governorship candidate in Edo State. The fight for supremacy between Godwin Obaseki and Adams Oshiomhole broke into the open in March 2020, when Oshiomhole was suspended from the party in his Ward, Etsako Ward 10 of Etsako West LGA over his alleged “divisive role” in the party. The suspension was later ratified by the State Executives allegedly loyal to Godwin Obaseki and upheld by a Federal High Court in Abuja on 4th March 2020. The suspension temporarily forced Oshiomhole out of the party and his National Chairman position. A Federal High Court in Kano intervened to save him.