The Ekiti election should serve as a template to conduct other elections in Nigeria, for Ekiti to have been the first state to release its result showed the effectiveness of the process, despite the laudable efforts of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the process recorded some irregularities.
We think Nigeria needs to learn a lot from the conduct of the National Election in Ekiti State. The election materials arrived as early as 7am in 90 percent of the polling units. The party agents conducted themselves in the most civil manner without pronounced cases of skirmishes.
The security operatives were well detailed and professional in their conduct. We commend the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officials and the police for their professional conduct during the exercise.
There was lack of intimidation of voters, no vote buying, while polling boxes were not snatched or destroyed during the exercise.
We see this as a very impressive development. It’s a lesson Nigeria needs to emulate.
The governor provided true leadership. Respondents said he consulted widely with all the political parties and drew commitment of non violence. It worked for the outcome of the hitch-free election.
One of the lessons is that the mindset, orientation, and perspective of the political and cultural leadership is important in determining the outcome of elections.
Where political leaders consciously preach against violence through constructive engagement with stakeholders, irrespective of their political leaning, the prospect of having a free and fair election will be very high.
Lack of mobility for voters and the negative impact of the CBN’s cash crunch denied many voters the opportunity of travelling to their communities to cast their votes.
We also observed that Ekiti needs more polling booths. The distance between one polling booth and the others fall below global standards.
We urge INEC to list Ekiti State as one of the communities that are in crucial need of more polling units. From our estimation, Ekiti needs no fewer than 500 more polling units to be able to meet the electoral expectations of the population.
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