Era of manipulating election results over in Nigeria – REC
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Oyo State, Mutiu Agboke, has said the era of manipulating election results in favour of political parties is gradually becoming a thing of the past in Nigeria’s democratic process.
Agboke stated this on Tuesday during an interview with journalists in Ibadan, saying the votes of the electorate would continue to determine the winners of elections.
He described the recently concluded general elections in Oyo State as successful and said the outcome demonstrated the Independent National Electoral Commission’s commitment to conducting credible elections.
According to him, INEC would continue to build on the progress already recorded and improve the conduct of future elections.
Agboke stressed that the Permanent Voter Card remained one of the most important instruments available to citizens in choosing their leaders, adding that the recent elections showed that voters could influence political outcomes through the ballot.
He urged Nigerians to continue to have confidence in INEC, insisting that the commission was neutral and had no preference for any political party.
The REC also commended residents of Oyo State for maintaining relative peace throughout the general elections.
He expressed appreciation to the Inter-Party Advisory Council, security agencies, the National Orientation Agency and media organisations for their contributions to the successful conduct of the polls.
Agboke further appealed to residents who had not collected their Permanent Voter Cards to do so, noting that about 2,023 PVCs were still unclaimed.
He also advised political parties not to relax after the 2019 elections but to begin early preparations for the 2023 general elections.
According to him, early preparation, peaceful political engagement and respect for the electoral process would help strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and improve future elections.
