I am a Christian, I love the Lord. I am a lover of good governance, I just want the people of my country to have dividends of democracy. Nigeria must be great.
@Riddwane My Commissioner's swag is top notch . He is so good in his contract with the Lagosians and he is stepper. He will definitely become Lagos governor one day to our admiration. Kudos Honorable Tokubo Wahab.
You Praise Alex Otti and Peter Mbah for building hospitals and bus terminals but condemn President Tinubu who made sure they got 3x FAAC allocation
if Tinubu didn't remove subsidy where would they have gotten the money to carry out those projects you are praising?
My Experience as an INEC Ad Hoc Staff in the Ekiti Election
A few people have asked me, "From your own perspective, was the election free and fair?"
Based on what I witnessed firsthand as one of the INEC ad hoc staff, my answer is yes, it was free and fair.
There was no rigging that I observed. There were no fights, no violence, and no atmosphere of fear. People moved around freely, and the entire process went smoothly.
One concern I noticed was the issue of vote-buying by some political actors. However, it is important to separate that from INEC's responsibility. If individuals choose to sell their votes, that is a societal challenge that we as citizens must address. From my observation, INEC put measures in place to ensure that the electoral process itself was transparent and credible.
One thing that particularly impressed me was how INEC made the voting process easier for registered voters. Many people believe that if they do not have their PVC with them, they cannot vote. However, at each polling unit, INEC printed and pasted the names of all registered voters on the wall for easy access.
This meant that a voter could simply go to the list, locate their name, and write down the last six digits of their PVC number. They would then proceed to the accreditation point, provide those six digits, and the BVAS would retrieve their details for verification. Once successfully accredited, they could proceed to vote.
I found this to be a very thoughtful innovation because it reduced the frustration of people who may have misplaced their PVC or forgotten to bring it along. As long as they were duly registered and their details could be verified, they were able to participate in the electoral process.
Another commendable aspect was the role of BVAS in preventing irregularities. The device electronically records the number of accredited voters. Therefore, if the number of votes counted exceeds the number of accredited voters captured by the BVAS, it is immediately identified as over-voting. This significantly reduces opportunities for manipulation and helps protect the integrity of the election.
I also observed that political parties and their agents understood the consequences of violence. Everyone knew that any polling unit affected by violence could have its results canceled. As a result, there was a conscious effort to maintain peace throughout the exercise.
Perhaps the most inspiring part of the day was the unity among the people at my polling unit. We had supporters and agents from APC, PDP, and ADC, yet they related like family. Even when we reminded them to remain peaceful, they simply laughed and said, "We are families; we cannot fight because of politics."
And they truly meant it.
Throughout the exercise, they joked with one another, played together, and maintained a friendly atmosphere. Even after the results were announced and APC emerged victorious in that polling unit, there was no hostility. They continued to laugh, tease one another, and go about their activities peacefully.
That experience reminded me of the kind of democracy we should strive for as a nation.
Politics should never make enemies out of family members, friends, neighbors, or community members. Political parties will come and go, but our relationships and our shared humanity should remain.
My experience gave me hope that peaceful elections are possible when institutions do their jobs and citizens choose peace over conflict.
Before we are members of any political party, we are first families, neighbors, and fellow Nigerians.
#EkitiElection #INEC #Democracy #PeacefulElections #NigeriaDecides #YouthParticipation #ElectionObservation
Ritaro Peace posted....