We’ve made a fool of ourselves — Fayemi

The postponement of the National Assembly elections announced by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has triggered criticisms from stakeholders in Ekiti State. Election to occupy the seat of Ekiti Central Senatorial District in five local government councils which make up the district and the election to Ekiti Central Federal Constituency 1 were earlier postponed due to non-availability of election materials. But the latest postponement filtered in after some areas had done accreditation and voting had started. Governor Kayode Fayemi said that it was a big embarrassment to the nation. Although the governor said that the postponement might be a process by the INEC to ensure a credible poll, he stated that it showed the lack of preparation on the part of the commission to undertake a big task. He said that Monday was too near and making materials available to the various units across the nation might not be possible. Fayemi said, “I think it is unfortunate. No matter what might have transpired, it reflects ill-preparedness. The postponement shows ill-preparedness on the part of the commission. It may be in the process of trying to have a credible election but this is an embarrassment “We have made a complete fool of ourselves before the international community. Countries that are not as endowed with human and material resources as Nigeria conduct credible elections without postponement.” Fayemi said that he had monitored polls in at least 30 countries and he never saw this type of embarrassment. Although, he said that Jega was a man of integrity, he reasoned that integrity alone could not guarantee a successful and credible poll for the nation. He said that the failure was as a result of systemic rot, adding that the system needed a complete overhauling. The governor also said that he got information that security presence in the state was not adequate, saying that the situation could give some unscrupulous politicians the boldness to engage in snatching of election materials. The Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria in the state, Chief Jide Awe and his colleague from the Peoples Democratic Party, who visited the INEC office in Ado-Ekiti described the postponement as unfortunate. By FEMI MAKINDE Courtesy Of: Punch