FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

With the deployment of Uzabe’s 20,000 observers, Connected Development (CODE) and her media and CSO partners observed the process and conduct of elections in polling units across 774 LGA’s of the 36 States and federal Capital Territory. Our findings raise several concerns about the management of the Presidential and NASS elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Following recent events, this interim statement will bring to light some of the discrepancies observed and will be followed by a more detailed report of the entire exercise.

A breakdown of negative and positive events observed at the polls include:

We observed late deployment of INEC staff and election materials, which led to the late opening of polls in 64% of polling units we observed, which saw many polling units close before exhausting the 6 hours of voting time, citing nightfall as an excuse. In many other polling units across the country, citizens’ resilience saw voting conducted late into the night with no power supply or light bulbs, under very unsecured conditions. For this purpose, many Nigerians were disenfranchised, and the most affected demography were Persons with disability, pregnant women, and elderly people. Registration Area Centers (RACs) were introduced by INEC to decentralize the coordination of logistics and effective deployment, to achieve early opening of polls, yet polls opened in some polling units across the country by 3pm and above.

We also observed that INEC in many polling units failed to adhere to her guidelines, stipulating that where election fails to hold because of the late opening of polls or failure of the Bi-Modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC shall conduct elections in such polling units the next day. INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu reinforced this in his communication on Election day, assuring Nigerians that if elections did not hold in any polling units, that INEC will deploy staff and materials to hold election in such places the next day. We observed that in many of such polling units, INEC staff and materials were not deployed to these areas, like in Imo state primary health care development agency, New Owerri 1, PU 0I8, and as such citizens again were disenfranchised. 

We observed that in some of these places where elections did not hold, results of polls were returned. An example of this is in Oru East LGA, Imo State. This systematic disenfranchisement of voters can partly be blamed for the 26.7% voter turnout witnessed in this election, which was anticipated to be much higher.

In the lead-up to this election, we had praised INEC for being very responsive in communication. However on Election day, when the situation arose on election day that INEC was needed the most to communicate timely and clearly, INEC was mum.

We observed that in 73% of Polling Units, an average of 2 Security personnel were seen present, very early in the day. We also observed the presence of armed Security Personnel in 28% of Polling Units observed. We observed that Security personnel deployed were civil in 71% of the polling units. While we commend the early deployment and spread of Security personnel, we however observed that there were several cases of voter Intimidation, and disruption of polls targeted at suppressing votes in favor of other political parties. Security personnel were seen to be in these polling units, yet thugs carried on with their criminal acts unhindered. This is way below the expected threshold of a civic exercise, where the security of voters should be protected, and citizens allowed to vote their choice without coercion or intimidation. 

We also observed that Nigerians approached and participated in this election in high spirits, trusting the process, on the assurance of INEC’s promised innovations which will ensure transparency of result collation and result management. The deployment of BVAS and INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) were presented to Nigerians as game changers in this 2023 general election. We observed that citizens found it difficult to log in to the IREV until late in the day of election. The IREV failed to upload any result of the Presidential election as at 10pm of election day, and even when the results started uploading, it was in trickles. At this moment, 4 days after the Saturday Presidential Election, only 85% of the results have been uploaded. This is in sharp contrast to all the promise and assurance given by INEC. 

We also observed that BVAS was used in 99% of the polling units we observed. We commend the swift efficiency of the BVAS in most of these polling units, which eliminated manual accreditation, ghost voters, and frivolous unreal results. We observed that the BVAS checked result manipulation and rigging to a very large extent, as biometric accreditation was used, and the number of accredited voters was applied in the process, eliminating over voting. However, there were many polling units where BVAS failed to work. As we saw at the National Collation center, many State Collation Officers for Presidential Elections that announced results, stated the failure of BVAS as reasons why elections did not hold in many polling units in the State, but they all did not explain why they failed to timely replace the BVAS, as stipulated in section 47, subsection 3 of the Electoral Act 2022.

We also observed that in 95% of the polling units where our observers were present, the polling units had a voting booth positioned in a way that ensured the secrecy of the ballot. We believe this may have reduced vote trading in these polling units.

As Nigerians prepare to go to the polls for the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections on 11th March 2023, Connected Development and her partners appeal to INEC to ensure that the many challenges that marred the credibility of the Presidential election should be handled; ensure a swift deployment and early opening of polls is put in place, professional conduct of security personnel, and INEC’s strict adherence to the use of BVAS for biometric accreditation, and electronic transmission of results from polling unit as stipulated by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC 2023 Election guidelines for the conduct of election. The Governorship and State Assembly election is yet another opportunity for INEC to redeem her now battered image, and earn the trust and confidence of the Electorate in our electoral process.

More importantly, INEC should ensure transparency of the result management and collation process and make certain that polling unit results are uploaded timely on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV), to stand a chance at redeeming her already deflated public confidence, and her almost blown-away goodwill which they have enjoyed from Nigerians.

The Uzabe election observation mission was focused on the election day process; focusing on the quality of the election, with the notion that if the process is right, the outcome will be right and accepted by all. Drawing from these observations, Connected Development and her partners conclude that the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly Election failed to meet the basic threshold of a credible election, as it failed short of Citizen’s expectations, INEC’s assurances, and benchmark of international election best practice. 

Connected Development (CODE) wishes to redress the media and general public on the allegation of election result manipulation and relocation of  Local Government Collation centres in Ekiti State.

Following the recent narrative making the rounds on media tabloids that Connected Development alleged the manipulation of the Presidential and National Assembly (NASS) results as well as the relocation of Local Government Collation centres in some States, CODE wishes to provide clarity on these narratives.

Connected Development in collaboration with her partners held a press conference on Sunday 26th of February, 2023 to give an update on the electoral process as observed with her electoral intelligence tool–Uzabe. 

At the conclusion of the conference, we noticed reports stating that CODE alleged a manipulation of the presidential and NASS elections as well as a relocation of Local Government collation centres particularly in Ekiti State.

It is fundamental to reiterate that while CODE has a mandate to enhance effective democratic governance and accountability, using technologies such as Uzabe to close the feedback loop between citizens and the government, we however, realise that collaboration with other institutions with similar objectives will aid in effectively charting our course.

On this note, we would like to reiterate that CODE’s Uzabe platform is not particularly concerned with the results of the election but is interested in the processes of the elections to ensure that INEC’s guidelines are adequately met.

We also wish to state that the reports on the “Local Government Collation centres in Ekiti State being relocated with new location being shrouded in secrecy” was printed in a haste. Our observers had drawn attention to the fact that collated results were not made public and raised concerns over transparency of the electoral process.

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About Connected Development:

Connected Development (CODE) is Africa’s leading Civil Society organisation that empowers marginalised communities with access to information while creating platforms for informed debates using data to inform policy and decision-making centred around citizens’ service delivery.

Contact: Seun Durojaiye

seun@connecteddevelopment.org

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and Nigeria’s leading civil society organization, Connected Development (CODE) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen and foster health sector accountability in Nigeria. 

The MOU is a vital step towards enabling CODE to further expands its tracking and evaluation of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the country, to inform its advocacy in canvassing for improved primary healthcare infrastructure and service delivery.

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BudgIT Foundation and Connected Development (CODE), two prominent civic-tech non-governmental organisations spearheading the advocacy for openness, transparency and accountability in governance, have launched the second phase of the COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability Project (CTAP), an initiative that seeks to promote accountability and transparency through the tracking of COVID-19 intervention funds across 10 African countries. 

For the first phase of the project, both organisations leveraged their Tracka and Follow The Money (FTM) platforms to address the deeply rooted systemic profiteering culture associated with COVID-19 interventions and ineffective feedback mechanisms for tracking COVID-19 fund disbursements and management across focus countries. The first phase also strengthened civic engagement on COVID-19 response related matters to ensure that targeted governments use COVID-19 funds effectively. 

Building on these successes, the second phase of the project will advocate for improved healthcare funding and address the issues related to vaccine deployment and equitable distribution across focus countries. Both organisations will do this firstly, by conducting research on the post COVID environment, the distribution of health sector resources, the government’s commitment to healthcare funding, vaccine procurement plans and the issues affecting the equitable distribution in Africa, with a special focus on vulnerable groups in terms of commercial activity and socioeconomic status.

According to Oluseun Onigbinde, BudgIT’s Global Director, “This research will set a pathway for identifying the peculiar issues with procurement plans and vaccine distribution, after which we can build partnerships with relevant stakeholders and sectoral leaders to co-create inclusive frameworks and solutions for long-term health sector accountability,”. “We will not only collaborate with governments in focus countries to institute proper and sustainable accountability systems, we will also enhance the COVID-19 Accountability Platform (covidfund.africa) with a digital dashboard that tracks health sector resourcing and accountability approaches” he added.

Beyond collaborations with the government and sectoral leaders, we will also strengthen citizens’ engagement and equip civil society organisations in each focus country on how to prioritise vulnerable communities in their advocacy for improved health care investment.

While speaking on this part of the project, Hamzat Lawal, CODE’s Chief Executive noted that both organisations will mobilise at least 1.7million Africans digitally and offline to monitor emergency funds and demand health sector accountability.

“We will also facilitate dialogue sessions between 36 CSOs and the government to create opportunities for engagement between both parties on improved funding and health sector accountability.” he added

The COVID-19 transparency and accountability project has been instrumental in strengthening COVID-19 fund accountability frameworks and devising strategies that enhance citizen-led advocacy for reforms. We believe that this second phase will leverage existing partnerships with relevant stakeholders, the OGP and Global Health Organisations working on fiscal issues related to COVID-19 fund management and health sector accountability. This project is led by CODE and BudgIT in collaboration with Global Integrity, Oxlade Consulting and primarily funded by Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and Skoll Foundation.

The Nigerian Police Force has acknowledged the receipt of a Freedom of Information request by a coalition of anti-corruption and social accountability civil society organisations to provide details of N1Billion allocated and disbursed for the supply and installation of police transit camp buildings and rapid response squad, including procurements from 2018 till date.

Follow The Money, SERAP, BudgIT and Enough is Enough (EIE) cosigned the letter following the investigation and publication by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), of an alleged misappropriation of N1 Billion allocated for sham police transit camps project in some states in the North. 

In the FoI letter dated 13th of December 2021, the CSOs noted that “having observed that the welfare of the police officers is seemingly grossly underfunded and has become an issue of national concern despite the huge allocations to the security parastatal, it has become expedient to request these details.”

The letter further reads in part; the Nigerian Police Force receives annual budgetary allocations by the Federal Government of Nigeria and state governments alike to support their operations and welfare which in turn has a significant effect on the state of security of the nation. 

“These police camps were intended to be a response to heightened insecurity including the violent invasion of herdsmen in Guma, Benue where over 70 people were killed and crops, farms and houses destroyed,” the FIJ report revealed.

The reputation of the Nigerian Police is sullied already, which makes it more urgent for the Inspector General to respond to our call for accountability by providing the details requested. This year alone, the National Assembly approved a N74 billion Police budget that captures infrastructure, training and retraining of personnel of the police. The security of our nation will continue to deteriorate significantly if the loopholes in our security architecture are not addressed,” Follow The Money Founder, Hamzat Lawal stated.

Despite years of funding, the services of the Nigerian Police Force continues to deteriorate as a result of greed, poor welfare and ill-equipped personnel which has resulted in an alarming increase in corruption within the force.

In line with the Freedom of Information Act, the CSOs have now requested that the Nigerian Police Force provide details of the N1billion allocation within 7 days of receiving the letter.

With its unique approach of training and empowering gender advocates, Nigeria’s leading civil society organization, Connected Development (CODE) is taking peculiar steps towards eradicating gender-based violence in northern Nigeria, focusing on Kano State. 

On November 9, the organization announced the launch of the second phase of its Galvanizing Mass Action Against Gender-Based Violence in Kano (GMAA-K) campaign, highlighting its target to develop a multi-year Kano State Action Plan to end all forms of gender-based violence as well as drive the adoption and integration of the Violence against person prohibition (VAPP) Act and the Child’s Right Act.

The GMAA-K campaign which is supported by the Canadian High Commission is a direct response to the menace of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) that is common practice in many states across Nigeria. Currently, Nigeria has the third highest rates of SGBV in the world, with data showing that at least 30 percent of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have experienced one or multiple forms of sexual abuse. 

These numbers are a representation of deep-rooted gender discrimination and a notorious culture of impunity – where access to justice and support remains a challenge for victims and perpetrators often walk free. The challenge is further heightened by a lack of laws and policies to protect the most vulnerable and punish convicted offenders. 

While speaking on the organization’s approach of extirpating SGBV, Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive of CODE revealed that during the course of the first phase of the project, the Kano State government opted to harmonize the VAPP Act provisions into the Penal Code Law.

“For the first quarter of this year, we worked towards the adoption of the Violence against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act in Kano and recorded success as the government opted to harmonize/incorporate the VAPP Act provisions into the Penal Code Law, in order to reconcile provisions and have a single comprehensive law that addresses SGBV; the legal document is pending validation and enactment by the Kano state House of Assembly.”

He further stated that the new phase of the project will propel the validation exercise of the VAPP and Penal Code Law and equally work towards enhancing women’s rights. 

On his part, the Acting Canadian High Commissioner, Kevin Tokaron, submitted that SGBV is a crisis in Nigeria that must be condemned, stating that this campaign is both timely and necessary. 

“It’s a crisis in Nigeria that we must condemn and work together to eliminate. For the past few years, we’ve seen a number of states in Nigeria pass and start to implement the VAPP Act which has given us hope but not all states have achieved this important milestone and much more work is needed, which is where our partnership with CODE comes into play. With Canada’s support, CODE will continue to galvanize mass action against SGBV in Kano State by ensuring the passage of the VAPP and Child’s Rights Act.”

Speaking on the health implication of SGBV and emphasizing the need for education, Dr Halimah Nuhu Sanda, who was also present at the press conference held at CODE’s office, said that SGBV must also be viewed as a public health issue because many victims are left traumatized after being abused and not enough support is provided for them. 

“SGBV is often regarded as a human rights violation which is correct but it should also be viewed as a mental health issue because victims are often left traumatized after sexual violence and it affects their mental state. When no mental health support is provided to victims, we harbour a mentally oppressed society, she concluded.”

Follow The Money sensitized over 500 students of the Federal University of Oye, Ekiti, on public expenditure, an anti-corruption drive for good governance. At the Campus Tour organised by our team, CODE urged Nigerian students and youths to exert their energy on taking ownership of government projects in their neighbourhood and expose any corruption in the execution.

There is the need for citizens, especially youths to track government budgets and ensure the full implementation by following the process towards putting an end to misappropriations and other corrupt practices in the country.

With support from the John D and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Follow The Money is using the iFollowTheMoney campus tour to advocate for a youth-inclusive governance where, from the academic space, young people can demand accountability and transparency from their elected govt reps at all levels, promoting citizen participation in governance to curb the menace of corruption in our society.

They are also able to accelerate improved public services in basic education, primary healthcare and provision of basic amenities for citizens. CODE believes that young people are representing constituencies in their communities, State and nationales. They can be champions of accountability and transparency in government projects and spending. CODE, through Follow The Money, uses the opportunity to recruit more activists and advocates for a better society.

Since 2019, Follow The Money has been using the iFollowTheMoney campus tour Initiative to advocate for inclusive governance and social accountability in the academic space. Over 3000 students in 5 Nigerian universities have been sensitized and empowered to demand for inclusion, good governance & improved public service delivery from their elected representatives. A large number of them are actively following the money.

Following the revelation that the Nigerian Army shot and killed 11 unarmed, peaceful protesters and wounded many others during the #EndSARS demonstration on the 20th of October, 2020, leading Civil Society Organisations promoting democracy, human rights and accountable governance, are calling on Lagos State Government and the Federal Government to publicly apologize to Nigerians for the government’s blatant attempt to cover up the massacre.

CODE and OXFAM urge the government to acknowledge the findings produced by the Justice Doris Okuwobi-led Judicial Panel and immediately act on its recommendations. The report not only revealed gross injustices committed by the Nigerian Army and police against peaceful protesters but also efforts to conceal the truth from the general public. 

“It is terribly sad and disappointing that the government tried valiantly to cover up the injustice that happened at Lekki Toll Gate that night. The army killed peaceful, unarmed and helpless civilians and the government tried to sweep it under the carpet—the very lives they swore to protect. An accountable government would apologise to its citizens and adopt the recommendations of the panel,” Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive of Connected Development (CODE) said. 

The Country Director Oxfam International in Nigeria has also described the report as laudable calling on relevant agencies of government to expedite action in bringing to justice all those whose action or inaction led to the death of these innocent young Nigerians. “We must rise as a nation against injustice, our country has witnessed a fair share of inequality when it comes to serving justice, this report provides the current regime an opportunity to rewrite the wrong for the sake of posterity, equity and justice’’ Dr Vincent Ahonsi, Country Director Oxfam International in Nigeria.

Now that the Lagos State Government has insisted on releasing a white paper, CODE demands that it must be objective, unbiased and free of any influence by state interests.

The #EndSARS protests, which gripped the country at the time, focused on the legitimate demands of the Nigerian youth for an end to police brutality and other forms of human rights abuses. The CSOs believe that, if the recommendations of the report are duly implemented, it would enhance healing and trust in the system. It would also improve transitional justice in Nigeria.

With its unique approach of training and empowering gender advocates, Nigeria’s leading civil society organization, Connected Development (CODE) is taking peculiar steps towards eradicating gender-based violence in northern Nigeria, focusing on Kano State. 

On November 9, the organization announced the launch of the second phase of its Galvanizing Mass Action Against Gender-Based Violence in Kano (GMAA-K) campaign, highlighting its target to develop a multi-year Kano State Action Plan to end all forms of gender-based violence as well as drive the adoption and integration of the Violence against person prohibition (VAPP) Act and the Child’s Right Act.

The GMAA-K campaign which is supported by the Canadian High Commission is a direct response to the menace of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) that is common practice in many states across Nigeria. Currently, Nigeria has the third highest rates of SGBV in the world, with data showing that at least 30 percent of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have experienced one or multiple forms of sexual abuse. 

These numbers are a representation of deep-rooted gender discrimination and a notorious culture of impunity – where access to justice and support remains a challenge for victims and perpetrators often walk free. The challenge is further heightened by a lack of laws and policies to protect the most vulnerable and punish convicted offenders. 

While speaking on the organization’s approach of extirpating SGBV, Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive of CODE revealed that during the course of the first phase of the project, the Kano State government opted to harmonize the VAPP Act provisions into the Penal Code Law.

“For the first quarter of this year, we worked towards the adoption of the Violence against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act in Kano and recorded success as the government opted to harmonize/incorporate the VAPP Act provisions into the Penal Code Law, in order to reconcile provisions and have a single comprehensive law that addresses SGBV; the legal document is pending validation and enactment by the Kano state House of Assembly.”

He further stated that the new phase of the project will propel the validation exercise of the VAPP and Penal Code Law and equally work towards enhancing women’s rights. 

On his part, the Acting Canadian High Commissioner, Kevin Tokaron, submitted that SGBV is a crisis in Nigeria that must be condemned, stating that this campaign is both timely and necessary. 

“It’s a crisis in Nigeria that we must condemn and work together to eliminate. For the past few years, we’ve seen a number of states in Nigeria pass and start to implement the VAPP Act which has given us hope but not all states have achieved this important milestone and much more work is needed, which is where our partnership with CODE comes into play. With Canada’s support, CODE will continue to galvanize mass action against SGBV in Kano State by ensuring the passage of the VAPP and Child’s Rights Act.”

Speaking on the health implication of SGBV and emphasizing the need for education, Dr Halimah Nuhu Sanda, who was also present at the press conference held at Bassan Plaza, Central Area, said that SGBV must also be viewed as a public health issue because many victims are left traumatized after being abused and not enough support is provided for them. 

“SGBV is often regarded as a human rights violation which is correct but it should also be viewed as a mental health issue because victims are often left traumatized after sexual violence and it affects their mental state. When no mental health support is provided to victims, we harbour a mentally oppressed society, she concluded.”

It is with immeasurable grief that we share the news of the demise of our dearest colleague and exceptional Digital Media Officer, Alfred Anicho Oji.

“If you have followed our social media posts and monthly newsletters, you can tell Alfred was dedicated and committed to the work of advocating for improved public services in Nigeria, Africa and beyond. He was someone who, in every way possible, embodied CODE’s values and principles of justice, social accountability and empowering marginalised grassroots people”.

Alfred was good-humoured, friendly and simply a warm person to be around. His death is a shock to us all and we will miss him sorely.

“Alfred was a committed development worker who held together our social media assets and consistently grew CODE and FTM’s online community simultaneously – showcasing our work and impact to local and international audiences”. 

In remembrance of him, we will coordinate a physical and virtual gathering to share memories and stories of Alfred, but more importantly, to collectively grieve the loss of a fellow comrade in the fight for human rights and a fair world.

We ask that you please remember his family and loved ones in your prayers in this difficult time.

Hamzat B. Lawal 

Founder, CODE & Follow The Money