A recent directive from the All Progressives Congress (APC) urging local government chairmen in Edo to compile lists of 400 names per ward has sparked outrage in the state.
Opposition parties say the move is aimed at bribing voters and rigging the results ahead for the party in the forthcoming governorship election.
The directive, issued by Lawrence Osarobo Okah, the State Secretary of the APC, read:
“PLEASE CHAIRMAN AS A MATTER OF URGENCY AND WITH ALL SENSE OF SERIOUSNESS, PLEASE COMPILE 400 NAMES PER WARD IN YOUR LGA AND FORWARD SAME AS SOFT COPY AND HARD COPIES TO THE STATE SECRETARIAT, AS THIS IS UNDER THE PROGRESSIVE GOVERNORS FORUM INITIATIVES.
“THESE 400 ARE TO DELIVER THEIR UNIT AT ANY COST. THIS IS A MATTER OF URGENCY.”
Critics have been questioning the motive behind the move and its potential impact on the integrity of the election process.
”The collection of such comprehensive personal data raises concerns about privacy and the ethical implications of such instructions.
”It shows that the APC is hell-bent on not playing by the rules and they should be stopped before they set this state on fire.
”We have been calling the attention of security agencies but they have been looking away, which shows that they are in bed with the APC on this plan,” Marvelous Odia, a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain told reporters in Benin City, the state capital.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed deep concerns about the lack of funding for the upcoming off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed that the commission has not yet received the necessary funds for the elections in both states.
During an interactive session with the Joint National Assembly Committee on Electoral Matters, Professor Yakubu clarified that the N40 billion allocated for INEC’s 2024 statutory budget is designated for the commission’s general operations, including managing its substantial workforce of over 15,000 staff across Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas, rather than for specific elections.
