INEC may cancel Rivers and Akwa Ibom elections as EU observers demand probe

Unless something strange did not happen , the INEC may cancel the election of two
states in South-South as the European Union Election Observation Mission to Nigeria has said the “severe problems” which characterized the just concluded polls in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states should be investigated.
The Chief Observer of the EU Mission, Mr. Santiago Fisas, noted in a statement on Monday that the April 11 governorship and state House of Assembly elections witnessed “more efficient polling” although there were “increased incidents of violence and interference‎.”
‎”Credible reports show that problems were very severe in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. These warrant further investigation,” the statement quoted Fisas as saying on Monday during the presentation of the mission’s second preliminary statement in a press conference in Abuja.
He noted that there was remarkable improvement on  the conduct of the April 11 governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections over the ‎March 28 presidential and federal legislative polls.
The EU representative, who said his team would remain in Nigeria to monitor the election petition process, added that there was still a need for “systematic improvement” on the electoral process.
The statement read in part, “Overall the 11 April election process appeared to be more efficient, with polling staff working diligently and improvements evident in the more timely opening of polling sites. However our findings also show space for systemic improvements. Procedural shortcomings continued to be prevalent.
“Card reader fingerprint verification was sometimes problematic; party agents were at times seen interfering in polling officials’ work, and essential ballot checks were not consistently performed during counting and collation.”