Just as the world awaits the result of the gubernatorial election in Ekiti state, the residents of the state have been commended for their peaceful and orderly conduct during the process on Saturday.
The commendation was given on Saturday by two observer groups involved in the process, a Pan Nigerian group, Nigerians Unite for APC and the Centre Against Injustice and Domestic Violence (CAIDOV) in separate press releases made available to media men after the election.
Nigerians Unite for APC in the release described the process as free, fair and transparent, and that the election is also an improvement in all ramifications, as the electoral umpire the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), conducted a transparent election devoid of complaints in the majority of the centres, while the machines worked perfectly well in most places, with few report of malfunctioning in few places.
In the release signed by its National Coordinator, Otunba Remilekun Balogun also commended the police, the Nigerian Army and other security agencies for their efforts in maintaining peace and order before, during and after the election, stressing that it has shown improvement in the past elections.
According to him “we must commend our people in Ekiti for the orderly manners the election held. The people played prominent roles in the process. Our security agents too should be praised for their maintenance of peace in the process.”
Finally, the group averred that though there are also a few complaints, but that can’t invalidate the election, calling on contestants to accept the outcome of the election as it represents the popular decision of the people of Ekiti.
The Centre Against Injustice and Domestic Violence (CAIDOV) in its release praised the people for eschewing violence in the election, saying that such conduct has shown that the people are alive to their responsibility.
The group equally noted that the maintenance of peace which is the primary responsibility of the security agencies, “was carefully handled and as such our security officers and men, should be commended”.