YAQOUB POPOOLA
The much-awaited elections into the 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 22 local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) may have come and gone but the lessons derived from the poll cannot be downplayed.
Though the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) secured a sweeping victory at the polls, it would be instructive to look at the dynamics. Call it a vote for peace, unity, mainstreaming and stability, you are definitely not mistaken.
For instance, unlike the usual tradition, the political re-engineering adopted by the Biodun Abayomi led administration ensured that interests of the various tendencies within and outside the party were factored in while the peoples’ interests were not also sacrificed.
The emerging leaders at the grassroots were mixtures of foot soldiers, allies and members of different blocs of the major political gladiators in APC in particular and Ekiti at large .
For the first time in the political history of Ekiti the poll engendered Gender Mainstreaming by ensuring that a great number of women were elected.
Ekiti, which has been at the forefront of women activism and gender mainstreaming secured a record 56 women elected into various offices at the poll .Already the state is currently having a sitting female deputy governor, speaker and Secretary to the government.
The Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission (EKSIEC) while announcing the results said the ruling APC won the 38 chairmanship and 177 councillors seats in the poll .
The election produced seven new female council chairpersons, 16 female vice chairpersons and a remarkable 33 female councilors.
The Returning Officers in all the LGAs and LCDAs took turns to present the results of the various council areas.
Addressing the gathering, EKSIEC chairman, Justice Cornelius Akintayo (retd) applauded Ekiti people for the peaceful atmosphere under which the election was conducted.
He also commended the parties that took part in the election for their sportsmanship spirit as well as the staff who worked on the field, the security agents and the media for a job well done.
EKSIEC Commissioners and principal officers joined their chairman at the presentation of the election results.
Political parties on the ballot of the election include, Action Alliance (AA), Action Democratic Party (ADC), African Democratic Party (ADP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), People’s Redemption Party (PRP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Governor Oyebanji commended voters and the umpire, SIEC, for the peaceful polls.
The governor expressed delight that the people at the grassroots were able to choose their representatives at local government and the 177 wards without fear or threat or any form of crisis.
According to him, a remarkable development in today’s local government election was the unprecedented huge number of female candidates vying for various positions.
But the highest was in the councillorship position. A remarkable 33 female candidates were on the ballot. The development, according to Governor Oyebanji, is very heart-warming, adding that the development speaks to the fact that democracy is taking a firm root in Ekiti State.
Commenting on the peaceful nature of the poll, the deputy governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye said the conduct by the EKSIEC portrays radical and remarkable development and signaled loud testimonies of tremendous improvement on that of the 2021 poll.
Afuye, who gave the submission while casting her vote at unit 003, Atiba/AafinWard in Ikere Ekiti commended the voters in her local government of origin, Ikere LGA where she voted, and also applauded voters across the state for demonstrating what she described as confidence and trust in the electoral process, by their impressive participation in the polls.
According to her, “Going by what we have seen and information across the state, the process has been adjudged to be peaceful and transparent.
“The SIEC officials and observers were on ground in time and that further propelled the voters to come out to cast their votes for their preferred candidates. This is highly commendable.
“The atmosphere was serene and voters were not being coerced to vote for a particular candidate. They are given the freedom to vote for candidates of their choice; that is the beauty of democracy.
Again, the peaceful nature of the poll was not only a pointer to the popularity of the party in power but the acceptability of the governor. Aside from this, it was probably the first time in recent time that elections would be held without the incidences of violence, brigandage or killing.
Meanwhile, Oyebanji, has warned the new council leaders that his administration won’t tolerate financial recklessness and ineptitude that could derail development in the councils.
Speaking his deputy, governor Oyebanji posited that the incoming administration across the 16 statutory councils and Local Council Development Areas, must be ready to surpass the tempo of radical development being fostered by the current occupants of the seats.
Oyebanji stated that councils in Ekiti are now executing projects in education, health, human capital development and agriculture sectors, leveraging on financial independence being enjoyed.
“Let me assure you that the incoming council bosses that will soon assume their respective offices in all our council areas will be made to sustain the tempo of development already ushered in by the present occupants of the seats.
“This government won’t allow any laxity that can derail the focus to make our local governments more functional in Ekiti. I congratulate those who were elected in the just concluded election for their victories. God will help them to succeed”.
He stated further that his belief that the councils, being the closest tier of government to the masses and rural dwellers, must be made functional through financial autonomy remains unshaken.
Oyebanji was emphatic that his administration has again demonstrated enormous respect for independence of the legislative and judicial arms, for democracy to flourish and for the smooth running of government.
“Recently, Governor Oyebanji commissioned the newly built Customary Court of Appeal in Ado Ekiti to show respect to the judiciary as an independent arm of government, the same mutual respect being extended to the legislative arm”.
Espousing the tremendous relevance and significance of the projects, Oyebanji, commended the council boss for being focused and selfless to deliver the best to the people, disclosing that he has etched his name in the hearts of the residents of the area.
“I’m of the humble opinion that the 1.2 kilometres Ita Iyana- Itamesi road and the 245 metres length Irayo road project, will contribute to smooth transportation and ease of doing business in this local government.
“Road project is one of the cardinal areas where Governor Biodun Oyebanji is making huge exploits to make lives more rewarding and easier for the masses. This will also stem the tide of insecurity because criminals often hide under deplorable roads to unleash terror on the people.
“Let me also appreciate your efforts in the area of human capital development and social services, with the construction of a befitting health centre that will reduce child and maternal mortality as well as contribute substantially to increase in the life expectancy of our people. Health they say is wealth.
“I know that the new legislative building that will be commissioned today will foster a strong and mutual relationship between the executive and legislature in this council for more delivery of democracy gains to our people’.
The Chairman of the Council, Engr. Olabode Adetunji, commended Governor Oyebanji for allowing the councils unfettered access to their funds, saying this has gone a mile in helping his colleagues to deliver on their campaign promises.
The LGA boss said the Comprehensive Health Centre would expand accessibility to quality healthcare and curtail untimely deaths through prompt treatment of diseases like diabetes, hypertension, malaria and other killer illnesses.
Besides the projects commissioned, Adetunji revealed that his administration had distributed 10,000 of gmelina and palm seedlings to farmers, employed 30 educated citizens, graded 24.2km farm and township roads, and sank boreholes to supply potable water.
The Council boss stated that his administration has constructed concrete roads and retaining walls in some strategic areas to tame the recurrent cases of ecological crisis being confronted by the hilly town.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) only wrote the names of members and announced them as winners of the election.
PDP South West Publicity Secretary, Sanya Atofarati maintained that there was no election.
“What happened in Ekiti was that the APC-led government decided to write some people’s names and announced them as councilors and chairmen,” he said.
Atofarati shared that he was informed by the PDP caretaker committee in Ekiti State that the party resolved to boycott the election because the process was compromised in the sense that the supposed electoral umpire comprised two card-carrying members of APC.
“How do you have confidence in that committee? How do you expect equity with that? If care is not taken, we would be endangering the lives of our members and the citizens of Ekiti State because the people would have resisted that kind of manipulation.
“You can see there was no turnout, even the governor, Biodun Oyebanji, admitted that in his ward. The governor said he agreed that there was a low turnout and that there was a need for voter education.
“That shows that there was a reservation. People are not comfortable, the APC is not doing anything that would encourage the citizens to go to the polls,” Atofarati stated.
Meanwhile, a Civil Society Group Nigerian Human Rights Community, NIHRCO, has been commended for a peaceful Local Government election in the South West State. The election of 38 Chairmen and 177 councilors was held on Saturday.
The group which monitored the election in 177 wards said the exercise has once again demonstrated the quality of leadership in the State. NIHRCO, which is a coalition of 135 civil society and community based groups spread across the country, was established in 2003.
A statement by the Fred Ojinika and Taiwo Adeleye, Programme Officers said the election was peaceful, devoid of violence and rigging while the outcome represents the freewill of the voters.
The coalition in a statement signed by its officials asked the state governments that are yet to conduct local government elections to do so, stressing that local government administration is essential to democracy and development.
The NIHRCO said a comprehensive report on the election is being put together which will be distributed across democratic institutions at home and abroad on lessons learnt and the challenges.
“The local government election was not perfect, but it represented a remarkable achievement in building sustainable democratic culture in Nigeria’ the group said in a statement signed by its Programme Officers, Mr Taiwo Adeleye and Fredrick Ojinika.
The group called on the National Assembly to create special intervention funds to assist the State Electoral Commission to meet democratic obligations in line with the fiscal support given by the Federal Government to the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC).
The group commended the Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission, EKSIEC for early arrival of materials and effective administration of the entire process that had almost zero hitches. ‘The Ekiti Local Government election is a confirmation that states can run their own affairs even better in many respect than the central government’. NHRC said there was no single case of violence. The security was excellent. The materials arrived on time while the voters were orderly and cultured. It said that there was no intimidation of voters while financial inducement was not witnessed by any of our observers.
The coalition however said the turnout was above national average but not in line with global expectations. It said monitors observed that the opposition parties were nonchalant towards the election adding that those interviewed argued that the leading opposition parties did not show keen interest in the election build up neither did they campaign during the run up to the Saturday election indicating that the opposition in the state has been weakened compared with the situation in the past. It also said that Ekiti needs more polling units given the growing population and the increasing number of new settlements observed during the election which were not hitherto covered either by INEC or SEIC.
The coalition said monitoring local government elections is as important as observing National elections adding that there is always the need for a third party opinion so that the content of the elections and its impact on the future of democracy in Nigeria will be better appreciated.
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