Summary A combination of intimidation, inducement, and violence spanning the electoral period damaged the freedom, fairness, and credibility of the 2019 Governorship election in Bayelsa State. However, most voters, INEC officials, security services, and civil society organisations are to be commended for their efforts to maintain a peaceful election.…
October 2018-March 2019 Summary This report presents the findings of the latest public perceptions survey (PPS), carried out by SDN in three Niger Delta states—Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers. The purpose of the PPS is to understand local-level concerns about security in the region, and priorities for addressing security-related issues.…
Report summary This report assesses the status and trend of women’s participation in politics as citizens and as holders of political positions in the Niger Delta. It is based on research undertaken in three states—Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Rivers—as part of the More Women in Governance project, led by…
The Ken Jr Award for Innovation is a 6-month ‘incubation’ programme for aspiring tech entrepreneurs, providing a grant, free work-space and office amenities at the Ken Saro-Wiwa innovation hub, training, mentorship support, and soft skills to four teams of people who have a business idea and minimum viable product…
Our Focus Protecting the environment We aim to reduce the negative environmental impact of the oil and gas sector, and demonstrate clean energy alternatives. Our work includes documenting, and making public, the extent of pollution, working with the Nigerian environmental regulators to strengthen their work, and supporting the National…
What is accreditation, and why do I need to be accredited on election day to vote? This is to ensure that only people who are registered to vote can do so, and that only one vote is cast per person. To do this, present your PVC to the INEC…
With less than two months until the November 16th Bayelsa State Governorship election of 2019, SDN is giving face-to-face training to voters, police command and security services, and party political agents. SDN also instructed trainers on how to teach ad hoc INEC staff to monitor polling stations effectively on…
Summary Across Nigeria, women are severely underrepresented at all levels of governance and face substantial social and economic barriers that hinder their active participation in politics. The situation in the Niger Delta is particularly difficult, due to highly competitive and violent aspects of politics and poor resource management by…
A civil society report on the conduct of the Nigerian elections In early 2019, Nigeria held its sixth cycle of elections since its restoration of democracy in 1999. This included two main sets of elections: Presidential and National Assembly polls, in February (after a week-long postponement, announced during the…
Call for applications: Application Deadline: 11:59pm, July 28, 2019 The Ken Jr Award for Innovation is a 6-month ‘incubation’ programme for aspiring tech entrepreneurs, providing training, mentorship support, and soft skills to teams of people who have a business idea and minimum viable product that they want to take…
This is a practical guide, aimed at existing and new aquaculture farmers, to scale up available opportunities in the fish farming market by providing step by step instructions from how to set up a commercial fish farm through to sale at local markets, including: capturing, culturing, processing, and aggregators.…
March 2018 – September 2018 Summary This report presents the results of a public perceptions survey, carried out by Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers states. It focuses on citizens’ perceptions of the current security situation in the Niger Delta, and views on the actors and…
Pipeline surveillance contracts are awarded to private firms by government agencies and oil companies. Surveillance contractors are ostensibly tasked with monitoring sections of oil pipeline, identifying any breaks and protecting them from vandalism. However, the concept of pipeline surveillance contracts in the Niger Delta is a misnomer. They rarely…
Released on 19/04/19 This is scheduled to be the final full weekly report from Niger Delta Watch 2019. It covers incidents where data is available for the end of the reporting period, the last week (25 – 31) of March. This report also includes a summary of the elections…
Summary With little in the way of livelihood opportunities, some young people are lured into criminal, and sometimes violent, means to secure a livelihood within so-called ‘cultist’ gangs operating in the Niger Delta. The Gokana Local Government Area, Rivers State, has been deeply affected by the criminal activities of…