The Nigerian Human Rights Community (NIHRCO), a coalition of 135 civil society and community-based organisations has commended the conduct of last Saturday’s local government election in Ekiti state.
The programme officers of NIHRCO, Fred Ojinika and Taiwo Adeleye in a statement on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti, said the election of the 38 chairmen and 177 councilors in the LGAs and LCDAs conducted by the Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission(EKSIEC) and won by the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) represented the will of the people.
The group who agreed there were challenges, called on state governments in the country who are yet to conduct local council elections to do so, adding that, “local government administration is essential to democracy and development.”
According to the statement, “We 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 statement reads, “At this time that Nigeria faces internal threats to democracy and growing concerns about public trust, it is important to deepen democracy and strengthen governance at the grassroots. This is exactly what has happened in Ekiti State.
“The Local Government election was not perfect, but it represented a remarkable achievement in building a sustainable democratic culture in Nigeria. The election is a confirmation that states can run their affairs even better in many respects than the central government.
“The turnout was above the 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 a keen interest in the election build nor 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.”
The observer group advocated the use of the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) for the conduct of local government elections in the country to add more credibility to the process.
They explained that the National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should initiate modalities for the deployment of the machine, “for that National elections are as important as Local Government elections.
“Using BVAS for National Elections is good but the same technology should be used in Local Government elections which may require special funds for SIECs to enable the institution to develop the technology that will broaden popular participation, ensure real-time transmission of results taking local government elections into a higher level,” it said.
The NIHRCO commended the state governor, Biodun Oyebanji for his commitment towards peace and non-violence election in the state, adding that,” deliberate policy of non-violence by state actors is essential for sustainable development.”
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