A civil society organization, Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM) has commended and congratulated the good people of Osun state for a successful gubernatorial election whose outcome reflects the will of the people.
In a press statement issued in Osogbo, the Osun state capital, CPPM’s Executive Chairman, Nelson Ekujumi, congratulated the good people of Osun state for trooping out en masse to vote in a peaceful and orderly manner which produced a winner in the person of Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
According to CPPM, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must be highly commended for its excellent performance which was an improvement on its 18th June 2022 Ekiti State gubernatorial election scorecard, by its timely deployment of men and materials to the various polling stations in a manner which speaks volume of the preparedness of the electoral umpire towards the successful conduct of the 2023 general elections.
The statement reads in part that, “from our observations and reports gathered from other observers and the media, INEC personnel and materials were already at polling stations as early as 6.45 am, and by 8.45 am, over 90% of polling stations had commenced accreditation and voting simultaneously according to the provisions of the law.”
The conduct of the personnel of the electoral umpire in the handling and use of sensitive election materials on election day showed a high sense of proficiency which must be commended.
The organization, however, expressed concern about the overpopulation of some polling stations with a voting population of above a thousand voters and thus putting a lot of strain on all the stakeholders and making the election process vulnerable to disturbance and disruptions.
According to Nelson Ekujumi, “Going forward, we call on INEC to do a forensic audit of polling stations and ensure that no polling station has more than 500 voters which is the required maximum by law”.
The group commended the security agencies for their superlative performance in terms of security provided through adequate and effective deployment of men to polling stations, motorized patrols, and barricaded roadblocks which helped to create an enabling environment for a peaceful, successful, and credible election.
The media, local and international observers were all applauded for their professionalism, impartiality, and diligent conduct which aided in no small measure, the credibility and successful conduct of the election.
The political parties and their agents were also singled out for commendations due to their civility and brotherliness towards one another which contributed to the peaceful conduct of the poll.
However, according to Nelson Ekujumi, the Committee for Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM), “notes with concern the disturbing monster of votes buying rearing its ugly head sadly again during this election”, but is hopeful that with regular constructive engagement by all stakeholders, this menace will soon be a thing of the past, just as we have finally overcome election malfeasance of the rigging of voting by proxy or multiple thumb printing or stuffing of ballot box through the deployment of PVC and BVAS machines.
CPPM congratulated the winner, Senator Ademola Adeleke, on his victory and enjoined him to be magnanimous in victory by rallying other contenders who are admonished to be gallant in defeat, to see the outcome of the election as a reflection of the will of the people which is a victory for the good people of Osun State.