By BOLANLE LAWAL

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) Election Observation Hub have raised concerns over alleged voter inducement ahead of Saturday’s Ekiti governorship election.

The organisations include the Kukah Centre (TKC), TAF Africa, the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), Yiaga Africa, the International Press Centre (IPC) and the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO).

Representatives of the organisations include Samson Itodo, Yiaga Africa; Asabe Ndahi, Kukah Centre; Akin Akingbulu, CEMESO; Lanre Arogundade, IPC; Brenda Anugwom, NWTF; and

They made the observations in a joint pre-election statement issued in Ado-Ekiti on Friday.

They also raised concerns over alleged political intimidation and the spread of misinformation ahead of the election.

They said the developments could undermine the credibility of the electoral process if not urgently addressed.

They alleged that money, food items and other materials were being used to influence voters in some parts of the state, describing the trend as a major threat to the integrity of the election.

According to them, there are also reports of an organised vote-buying scheme involving the use of pre-credited bank accounts to harvest voters’ Permanent Voter Card (PVC) details and National Identification Number (NIN) in exchange for votes.

They said the alleged practice had been reported in Irepodun/Ifelodun, Ikole, Ikere, Ekiti East and Ekiti West Local Government Areas, raising serious concerns over the misuse of personal data for voter manipulation.

The election observation hub also expressed concern over reported cases of political intimidation and violence, including allegations involving political thugs and the disruption of campaign activities in Ado-Ekiti, Ikole and Oye Local Government Areas.

The organisations further raised concerns over alleged police detention of political opponents through the use of Form K without recourse to the judiciary, urging security agencies to operate strictly within the provisions of the law.

They also warned that the pre-election information environment was increasingly being affected by misinformation, disinformation and inflammatory political communication circulating on social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, TikTok and X.

They therefore called on electoral authorities, security agencies, political parties and other stakeholders to take urgent steps to address the identified challenges and ensure that the Ekiti governorship election was conducted in a peaceful, transparent and credible manner.(NAN)