Centre for Teansparency Advocacy has completed plans to provide no fewer than fifty trained observers for the coming Ekiti Governorship election scheduled to hold on 18th June.
The advocacy group also noted that they have met with all stakeholders and security agencies in the state and are set to open a Situation Room from Friday 17th July 2022 in Ado-Ekiti to collect reports from field observers throughout the state.
Executive Director, Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), Faith Nwadishi diclosed this to News Echo in a press statement on Monday.
According to the Director “A few days remain until the Ekiti governor’s race. The election scheduled for 18 June 2022 will be the sixth election for governor of Ekiti State. According to INEC statistics, sixteen political parties are competing for the votes of eligible voters in 2,445 polling units Wards to become the next governor of the state”.
“Ekiti State presently has 988,923 registered voters, according to INEC figures (79,338 more than 2018). There are 502,906 girls (51%) and 486 017 males included in these figures (49%)”.
“Additionally, INEC has declared that it will provide 3,346 BVAS devices to the 10,269 polling workers throughout the election”.
“In preparation for the next governorship election, the Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), an accredited election observer, convened a stakeholder conference with participants from many sectors and fields in relation to their electoral roles. Participants were selected from the following groups and organizations: INEC, Traditional rulers, Police, FRSC, NSCDC, Immigration, Civil Society Organisations (CSO’s), Nigerian Youth Parliament Ekiti State Chapter, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Market women’s Association (Iyalojas), Religious bodies, NUJ, Rattawu and citizens”.
The various participants discussed their roles in the election, and the security services reassured the public of their readiness.
Prior to the meeting, the CTA team made advocacy visits to security agencies and important government agencies, including the DSS, the NSCDC, and the National Orientation agency. CTA launched media sensitization programs to raise citizens’ awareness of the need to vote en masse and to maintain peace and order before, during, and after elections.
“CTA will deploy fifty (50) observers to the sixteen Local Government Areas of Ekiti State. These observers will receive training on the Electoral Act of 2022, election observation, and INEC Election Guidelines.
CTA will also open a Situation Room from Friday 17th July 2022 in Ado-Ekiti to collect reports from field observers throughout the state”.
According to Faith Nwadishi, “We are concerned that the election is taking place in Nigeria amid a perilous security climate. Participants were informed of what was expected of them before, during, and after the election, which made for a fascinating and enlightening discussion”.
The meeting produced the following resolutions:
1. This political actor must guarantee that his or her acts and statements do not incite violence or unduly inflame the political climate,
2. That security authorities should provide guarantees and make necessary measures for the protection of voters prior to and following elections,
3. that voters must turn out in large numbers to exercise their democratic rights by voting for their preferred candidates and avoiding vote-buying,
4. INEC should ensure that its workers are fully trained on the operation of the BVAS machines and the election guidelines to guarantee a free, fair, and credible governorship election,
5. that parents must not allow their children to be used as political thugs to disrupt the peaceful conduct of elections.