The National Commissioner in charge of Oyo,Ogun and Ekiti states,Prof Lai Olurode at the weekend lambasted Ondo State Governor,Dr Olusegun Mimiko over his comment on the conduct of the last general elections.
Mimiko drew the ire of the INEC boss when he alleged that Olurode was in Ondo state during the election to tutor electorates on how to go about rigging elections for a paricular opposition party.
Olurode said he was in the state to educate and enlighten the electorates on how to conduct themselves without resulting to violence.
“With this approach there was a physical threat to this nation and his approach has to be discouraged. As for INEC we have no right to jettison the list of candidates brought by their political parties as INEC has no list of candidates for elective offices” , Olurode stated.
He described Mimiko as executive electoral illiterate at a function well attended in ibadan during the presentation of Certificates of Return to winners of National Assembly and Governorship elections in Ibadan.
“Experience in the just concluded elections shows that the electorates needed to be educated to avoid waste of time and voiding ballot papers.
For example , Oyo state had 5.3 percent voided vote cast and Osun state with over 3.0 percent and this is not good for our democracy”,he added.
He went further to advocate for stiffer penalties and punishment for perpetrators of electoral offences.
The INEC National Commissioner-in- charge of Oyo, Ogun, and Ekiti states decried huge cost of conducting elections in the country and noted that punishing the perpetrators of electoral violence will serve as a deterrent to others in the future.
He then called on individuals, civil society to volunteer to help the commission so as to reduce huge cost of paying the ad hock staff being used during elections.
Olurode while identify other challenges being faced in conducting free and fair elections in the country to include absence of internal democracy among political parties, nonchalant attitude of political parties and politicians also identify increase voter education for electorate to reduce the alarming rate of void votes recorded in the just concluded elections.
In his welcome address, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), in the state, Ambassador Rufus said noted that the presentation of certificates of return to winners after elections is a confirmation of electoral victory for the candidates.
He stated that this is necessary in order to defend and save the current democratic dispensation.
The INEC chief then congratulated the governor of the state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi and other elected members of the national assembly from the state.
The 17 National Assembly candidates among who are 3 Senators that scaled through, all from APC also received their certificates of return .
Speaking shortly after they were presented their certificates,Ajimobi thanked the people of the state and those who contested against him , saying the contest is a contest of no winner and no loser saying describing his victory as the work of God.
He described them as the winners of the elections and urged the commission to include the 8 new proposed state house of assembly constituencies the as it was approved in Benue state.
He lauded several innovations by INEC such as Permanent Voter Cards, Smart Card Readers, the use of corps members for the elections and the use of dons as returning officers, open and transparent ways of distributing sensitive and non-sensitive materials and open ways of announcing and declaring winners of the elections as one of the ways that helped the commission to record such huge success.
Abiodun Dada Awoleye (Ibadan North) who spoke on behalf of other lawmakers implored the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to build on the success recorded during the just concluded elections. .
Awoleye further urged the INEC to rectify some of the challenges it faced such as late arrival of INEC officials and elections materials, failure of SCR to identify finger prints, shortage of ballot papers and other election materials appealed to the commission to conduct an appraisal work to know how and why it failed in some areas, noting that this will help it to correct such mistakes in future elections.
“As I speak to you today, the just concluded elections has been adjudged as freest and fairest since we started this present democratic dispensation in 1993 due to various innovations by the Professor Muhammadu Attahiru Jega led INEC, the commission has done well but I am appealing to them not to be intoxicated with the praises from different quarters but to look at its weaknesses and work on it to give us more credible elections”
“An appraisal work should be carried out to know its strength and weaknesses, this will prepare the commission ahead of future elections”
The lawmaker declared that Jega has set a solid foundation in the commission for those who will succeed him describing him as a man who has wrote his name in gold not minding many odds against him and his office.
Gov. Olusegun mimiko
