The most urgent challenge facing Nigeria is how to make sure that peoples votes count in elections conducted by across the country, the governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi said in Benin at the weekend.
Mr. Fayemi, who delivered a lecture, titled ‘An Insider’s View of a Broken Electoral System and Proposal for Reform,’ as part of activities to mark two years’ in office of Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole,also said it is difficult to see how Nigerian can attain democratic consolidation and effective governance on the basis of its present electoral system.
The state governor, who only last month had his victory at the 2007 elections affirmed by the federal appeals court, warned that the 2011 elections certainly harbour more potential for electoral fraud and violence. He said that doomsday scenario might lead the citizenry to embrace violence as a way to keep the electoral management body, politicians and their agents in check and on their toes.
“Almost everyone agrees, including the leading beneficiaries of electoral fraud, that the reform of the broken electoral system is the single, most important remedial action needed in our country today,” he said.
Mr Fayemi said his experience at the courts made him realise that efforts by politicians should be concentrated on how to ‘rescue our people from bad governance.’ To achieve this, he stressed the need to ‘build coalitions and platforms in the public sphere that are beyond parties and personalities,’ saying these platforms should embrace those who subscribe to the core values of integrity, honesty and dedication to the transformation of Nigeria.
Partisan electoral bodies
He also observed that Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ‘ranks amongst the most partisan, partial elections management body in the world and this largely stems from the nature of appointment into the body.’ The Ekiti State chief executive said under its last chairman, Maurice Iwu, INEC made sure that ‘election rigging became an article of faith.’ Mr Fayemi also noted that under Mr Iwu, there was no detachment between the electoral commission and the political leadership of the state. He also accused civil servants who had been in the electoral commission for the past two decades of being central to the rigging process.
‘To solve the myriads of problems co nfronting Nigeria as a nation, the issue of national structure through dialogue is necessary,’ the governor said.
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