Edo State Gubernatorial (Governorship) Election, 21 September 2024

Floods, May 2024 

On 24 May 2024 Edo State, Nigeria, experienced over 15 hours of torrential rainfall, leading to widespread flooding in Benin City. The intense rainfall stressed multiple flood flash points across the state, leading to the overflow of riverbanks (Omage 2024). Fortunately, there were no reported casualties (Daily Echoes 2024). 

Having been warned by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) about the likelihood of such an extreme weather event, the state government had invested in measures such as retention ponds and other key infrastructure, and desilting of drains and flood channels in various low-lying and flood-prone areas of the state (Nigerian Observer 2024). 

 
Impact on the electoral process 

In preparation for the Edo State governorship elections in September, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise from 27 May to 5 June 2024 (Yiaga Africa 2024). 

The intense rainfall inflicted extensive damage to INEC’s Edo State headquarters in Benin City, destroying facilities and assets prepared for the CVR exercise. Among these were Bimodal Voter Accreditation Machines (BVAS), vehicles, photocopiers and printing equipment, office furniture and the building’s fence (Iyemefokhai 2024). Sections of the building were submerged,  rending it unusable as a registration centre and relocation of the exercise to the Ikpoba Okha Local Government office (Akinwale 2024). 

INEC pledged to replace all damaged facilities in preparation for the election itself (Daily Echoes 2024). The Commission announced that it had successfully recovered 3,817 Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices affected, and ensured the BVAS’ batteries were charged (Iyemefokhai 2024). As part of its commitment, INEC also procured and deployed additional machines. INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu reassured Edo residents that voter registration would continue despite the setback and further noted that it was fortunate the election was an off-cycle one, which allowed the Commission sufficient time to address the challenges (Daily Echoes 2024).