After a grueling campaign period and several brickbats among the gladiators, the D-day is finally here. The day 87.2 million registered voters are scheduled to troop to the 176,846 polling units across the country to pick the man who will take over from President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29.

Also to be elected today are 109 Senators and 306 members of the House of Representatives.

Security has been beefed up in all the 774 local government areas while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) concludes arrangements for the successful conduct of the elections.

Despite measures by the federal government and some of its agencies to curb the use of money to induce voters, an ally of the PDP presidential candidate was yesterday arrested in Rivers State with $498,100 cash which he said was to be shared to compromise voting.

Although 18 parties are presenting candidates for the elections, observers believe the winner will emerge from the quartet of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC); Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Mr. Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) and Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).

They were the only candidates who made active efforts to woo voters by campaigning in many parts of the country.

The police and sister agencies have beefed up security across the country to nip in the bud any attempt to disrupt the elections.

Police Inspector General Usman Baba said 424,106 security personnel would be deployed for election duties today.

No quasi security personnel will be involved in any way for security assignment, according to him.

Baba said VIPs would not be allowed to go to their polling units accompanied by armed security men.

Vehicular and human traffic is being restricted from 12 midnight last night until after voting later today.

The Lagos State Police Command said yesterday that the restriction will cover waterways and airways.

It said: “In line with the security architecture emplaced for the 2023 General Elections, human and vehicular movements will be restricted on Saturday, February 25, 2023 between 0000hrs and 1800hrs across all roads, waterways and airways in Lagos State.

“In the same vein, security aides of public and private individuals, who have already been scaled down in accordance with the Electoral Act 2022, are not allowed to escort their principals to polling units and collation centres armed.

“Except for essential duty vehicles such as ambulances, fire trucks, patrol vehicles of Federal Government security agencies, the use of sirens at or around polling units and collation centres is totally banned.

“In line with the Electoral Act 2022, no state-owned security agency is part of election security. Violators will be apprehended and prosecuted. Exempted from the movement restrictions are essential workers, INEC officials and election observers.

“Meanwhile, members of the public are encouraged to be law-abiding as they exercise their franchise. They are equally urged to promptly contact the police on any of the following numbers to report suspicious persons or activities around them: 08127155132, 08065154338, 08063299264, 08039344870.”

Air Force deploys air surveillance in Ebonyi

The Air Force is deploying aircraft for aerial surveillance in Ebonyi State, according to Governor David Umahi.

Umahi said the decision to this effect was taken at a security council meeting in Abakaliki.

He said the security agencies are on ground to secure voters, electoral officers and materials for the election.

“I want Ebonyi people to know that they would be flying low to maintain law and order so you should not entertain any fears,” he said.

He said the operation was to ensure miscreants do not exploit opportunities to cause breakdown of law and order during the general elections.

The Governor also remarked that though the activities of Ebubeagu security outfit has been suspended, its replacements, the Neighbourhood Watch and Vigilante Corps, would not participate in election security.

New naira notes scarcity may increase vote buying, Yiaga Africa warns

A civil society organisation, Yiaga Africa, yesterday warned that the untold economic hardship caused by the recent scarcity of new naira notes is capable of encouraging Nigerians to relinquish their votes in exchange for the scarce currency.

Presenting the group’s preliminary statement on the conduct of the presidential election process in Abuja on Thursday, the organisation’s chairman, Dr Hussaini Abdu, said the economic hardship caused by the naira swap may impact citizens’ participation in the elections.

“This growing discontent amongst citizens may lead to voter apathy in the form of ‘protest’ which will eventually lead to low voter turnouts.

“We are also worried that citizens facing these forms of adversities going into the election may be unable to make informed choices at the polls,” he said.

“The current Naira redesign policy and scarcity of legal tender are aimed to fight vote trading on election day, but the prevailing hardship it has come with may even make it easier for voters to relinquish their votes in exchange for the scarce currency.”

Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said the organisation will deploy 3,836 observers throughout the country for the presidential election.

“This is comprised of 3,014 stationary Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) observers deployed to a random representative statistical sample of 1,507 polling units; 822 roving observers across the 774 LGAs and 36 states; and 8 Working Group members who run real-time election analysis.

”Yiaga Africa will also deploy observers to the LGA and State Results Collation Centres in every state. Our observers will observe the entire election day process from set-up of the polling units through the announcement, posting of the official results and uploading of the polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal.

“The observers will send in periodic reports to the Watching the Vote National Data Centre located in the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja where they will be processed and analysed,” he said.

ACF denies endorsing Atiku

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has dismissed as fake media reports that it had endorsed Alhaji Atiku for the presidential election.

Addressing pressmen in Kano, Chairman of Kano State’s chapter of ACF, Dr. Faruk Umar, said the report of any such endorsement was not true, as it was falsified to blackmail and confuse the voters.

He affirmed that he had confirmed personally from the national secretariat of ACF and many other elders if there was any change in the neutrality position of the group and all confirmed that the Forum remains committed to its pledge to allow members to vote their conscience.

He asked ACF to “disregard the publication and adhere to the position of the National Executive to allow members exercise their rights in choosing their candidates.”

He noted that the ACF had in Kano, in demonstration of the group neutrality, two months ago interacted with all the gubernatorial candidates from Kano, where they signed an agreement to conduct their election campaigns peacefully.

He decried recent happenings in the state and appealed to all candidates to keep to their words and conduct themselves peacefully during the election.

He commended INEC and the security agents for “the adequate arrangements put in place and appeal to voters to give them maximum cooperation.”

Southeast gears up for elections despite killings, sit-at-home order

The South East, which has been subjected to severe attacks and threats by hoodlums and pro-Biafra groups over the last two years, seems ready for the elections.

Residents appear to have heeded calls by Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the Southeast Council of Traditional Rulers to ignore the sit-at-home orders by Biafra agitator Simon Ekpa and come out to cast their votes.

Ekpa was arrested and quizzed by the Finnish security on Thursday over his incessant threats to disrupt peace in Nigeria.

Scores of policemen and other security personnel have been killed in attacks by unknown gunmen in the region while INEC and police stations have also been repeatedly attacked.

However, the people of the region ignored the order and the concomitant violence and went about their businesses on Thursday and Friday and preparing well ahead of the elections.

A visit to Mayor and Ogbete markets in Enugu showed residents making what looked like last minute transactions.

Also, in banks, more customers trooped out to make cash withdrawals as POS operators have hiked the amount for withdrawing cash as a customer will have to pay extra N4,000 to be able to get a cash of N10,000

Our correspondent who monitored developments observed that residents were upbeat about coming out to vote in the election despite the challenges.

It was learned that most people whose polling units are not in Enugu have travelled home to cast their votes.

Some of the residents, who spoke to our correspondent in Enugu, said they would go out and vote.

Security has been beefed up in the Enugu office of INEC.

The Force Headquarters deployed three Commissioners of Police to Imo State to provide water tight security before, during and after the 2023 elections.

The newly posted commissioners are CP Banji Ogunrinde, Imo East zone; CP Chris Aimionowane, Imo West Zone and CP Alex Wannang, Imo North.

The officers who have assumed duties began their work by strategising on the already existing security architecture to provide security in all the nooks and crannies of the state.