A civil society organisation, Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM) has described the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State as “a reflection of the will of the Ekiti people which is loud and clear”.
In a statement issued in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital by the Executive Chairman of the group Nelson Ekujumi, the organisation congratulated and commended the good people of the state for the peaceful and orderly conduct of the gubernatorial election which was held on Saturday 18th June 2022 and produced a winner in the person of Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to CPPM, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deserves big kudos for its excellent performance in the conduct of the election which is a signpost of its preparedness for other off-season elections and the 2023 general elections.
The group noted that as of 9 am, from observers’ reports and other sources including the media, INEC personnel and materials had arrived at almost 95% of polling stations across the state and accreditation and voting commenced and there was negligible or no report of BVAS machine malfunctioning from any of the polling stations.
CPPM congratulated INEC for this laudable feat which is a radical departure from its logistics challenges of the past, just as it urged the electoral umpire to remain focused on conducting free, fair and credible elections.
CPPM also congratulated the security agencies for a yeoman’s job which contributed in no small measure to the peaceful and orderly conduct of the election. It gave kudos to the security agencies for their professionalism and neutrality in obedience to their oath and the nation while discharging their responsibility on election day.
The political parties and their agents at the polling stations were equally commended for their patriotism and commitment to ensuring that the process went on unhindered.
The group also applauded the media and local and international observers for their professionalism and service to humanity’s role which aided the credibility of the process.
CPPM as well commended the voters for their impressive turnout which was a testament to their resilience and doggedness in performing their civic responsibility for a better Ekiti State.
The organisation however noted with regret, that it received reports of voters inducement in some polling stations and condemns this act of electoral irresponsibility in totality, just as it commended the security agencies for arresting some of the electoral offenders and will be keenly following the matter in order to ensure that the cases are prosecuted to a logical conclusion.
CPPM also congratulated Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the APC for his victory at the polls which is a confirmation of the will of the people and urged him to be magnanimous in victory and see it as a victory for all, just as it admonished other candidates to be gallant in defeat and join hands with the winner in moving Ekiti State forward to the benefit of humanity and glory of God.