The commission had scheduled the close of voting for 2:30pm, although voters who were already on the queue by the deadline were allowed to complete accreditation and cast their ballots.

Before the electronic uploads commenced, photographs of result sheets from various polling units had begun circulating among political parties, observers and voters.

The pace of the uploads had earlier drawn the attention of David Adeleke, the afrobeats singer popularly known as Davido, who called on INEC to make the results available on IReV without delay.

In a series tweets on X, Davido said timely publication of the results was necessary to promote transparency in the electoral process.

“INEC, it is now 2:33 p.m., yet no result has been uploaded to the IReV portal. What is the delay? Nigerians deserve transparency and timely updates,” he said.

Davido also urged voters to remain at their polling units until their results were uploaded, while asking them to verify that the figures on the result sheets were accurately entered on the electronic EC8A forms.

“Make sure your polling unit results are uploaded on IReV in your presence, and make sure the figures are entered on eEC8A. We will follow our votes bumper to bumper,” he wrote.

Davido further encouraged voters to take photographs of their polling unit result sheets and submit them through a WhatsApp channel, urging them to safeguard their votes throughout the collation process.

“Don’t leave your polling unit until it is being uploaded on the IReV; protect your vote now,” he added.

He said the measure was intended to provide eligible citizens with the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to vote without being hindered by official duties.

According to him, “The declaration is intended to provide eligible citizens the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to vote and contribute to the democratic process at the grassroots level without disruption arising from official duties.

“However, workers engaged in essential services are exempted,” he added.

The governor’s aide urged residents of the state to come out peacefully and exercise their franchise in accordance with the law.

He also called on eligible voters to conduct themselves responsibly before, during and after the elections.

“The State Government assures citizens that all relevant authorities will work to ensure a peaceful and orderly electoral environment and urges everyone to cooperate with security agencies and electoral officials in the discharge of their responsibilities,” Gidado stated.

The government wished residents a peaceful and successful Local Government Council election.