TheCable

The Nigerian Human Rights Community (NIHRC) says Ekiti state needs 500 more polling units to encourage voter turnout in future polls.

In a preliminary report signed by Taiwo Adeleye and Fred Ojinika, NIHRC programme officers, the group commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the peaceful nature of the election in Ekiti, while it described the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) as the best credibility solution for Nigeria.

The group, a coalition of over 100 civil society groups, said the efficiency of INEC officials in Ekiti has left a remarkable milestone worthy of emulation in other states of the federation.

It, however, stated that voter turnout was notably low, describing this as an unimpressive decimal across the country.

NHRC said 988,932 people collected their voter cards but could not exercise their franchise for various reasons, including lack of cash to aid transportation, denial of access to personal funds stuck in banks, and fuel scarcity.

NHRC said the shortcomings were not enough to significantly alter the outcome of the election.

On security during the polls, NHRC said there were no killings, no reports of violence, no snatching of ballots papers, and voters were orderly in the state.

“The INEC performance, the public, and the government in Ekiti state are giving hope to the rest of Nigeria,” the NHRC, which monitored the state assembly polls, said in its report.

“Despite the challenges of BVAS, the innovation is the best Nigeria has ever seen. It eliminates rigging and manipulations. What INEC needs to do is improve service delivery.”

The group said its officials were impressed by the pre-election peace-building and conflict-prevention efforts of Abiodun Oyebanji, the state governor.

“It is vital for political leaders to demonstrate affection for peace and stability. This will definitely affect the attitude and perception of the voters on the day of voting,” the CSOs added.

“This is a complete departure from what is obtainable in some states where state governors and political actors openly called for attacks on opponents.”

NIHRC, prior to the election, deployed 350 local observers, and 25 coordinators across the 16 LGAs, 19 Local Council Development Areas, (LCDA), 177 wards, and 2,191 polling units.