November 21, (THEWILL) – Following the successful conclusion of the Anambra State governorship election, which took place between November 6 and 9, 2021, attention has now shifted to two off–cycle elections coming up in June and July 2022 in Ekiti and Osun States, respectively.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier this year announced June 18, 2022 as the date for the Ekiti State Governorship Election and July 16, 2022 as the date for the Osun State Governorship Election.
In announcing the date, INEC said the tenure of the incumbent governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi will end on October 15, 2022.
The timetable of the election, which was extracted from the INEC website also revealed that the conduct of party primaries, including the resolution of disputes arising from the primaries, will take place between January 4 and 29, 2022.
Other details on the timetable of the next year’s governorship election in Ekiti include: Publications of personal particulars of candidates (EC9) by the Commission, February 11, 2022; last day for withdrawal by candidate(s)/replacement of withdrawn candidate(s) by political parties, February 25, 2021 and the last day for submission of Nomination Form (EC13B) by political parties, March 11, 2022
Political parties, according to INEC, will begin a public campaign on March 20, 2022, while the last date for campaigns by political parties and their candidates is June 16, 2022. This will be preceded by the publication of the final list of nominated candidates by the Commission in May, 2022.
INEC has also announced Saturday July 16, 2022 as the date of the governorship election in Osun State. The tenure of the current governor of the state, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, will end on November 26, 2022.
Also, according to the election timetable obtained by THEWILL on INEC’s website, the conduct of party primaries, including resolution of disputes arising from the primaries, is scheduled to take place between February 16 and March 12, 2022, while the last day for withdrawal by candidates/replacement of withdrawn candidates by political parties will end by April 8, 2022.
Campaigns by the political parties and their candidates will start on April 17, 2022 and end on July 14, 2022.
The announcement of the dates for the governorship elections has spurred the hitherto sleeping states into action as politicians across the nooks and crannies of the two states have woken up from slumber induced by the worsening insecurity across the country. Caucus meetings across party divides are already taking place and governorship aspirants are making their intentions known. They are already on their guard and preparing for the elections that will determine those who will succeed the incumbent governors.
While Fayemi is on his second and final term, Oyetola on the other hand is constitutionally entitled to a second term of four years after his first tenure.
Political analysts and watchers of political developments in Ekiti and Osun believe the elections will be two-horse races between the candidates of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
PDP’s Preparation
The Peoples Democratic Party has released its timetable and schedule of activities in early preparation for the June 18, 2022 governorship election in Ekiti State.
Speaking through its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said the sale of expression of interest and nomination forms commenced on September 13 and ended September 30.
Ologbondiyan noted that the party’s National Working Committee had concluded the screening of aspirants while appeals on the screening exercise were ongoing.
The PDP spokesman stated that the party’s congresses to elect a three-man ad-hoc ward delegates have been scheduled to hold from January 7 to January 8, 2022, adding that local government congresses to elect national delegates would take place on January 15, 2022.
The party also said it would commence the sale of forms for the 2022 Osun State governorship election on November 22, 2021.
It stated that the deadline for the sale of the forms for the election, slated for July 16, 2022, would end on December 10, 2021.
The PDP National Organising Secretary, Austin Akobundu, disclosed this in a statement titled ‘Osun Governorship Election: PDP to Commence Sale of Forms November 22.’
It reads in part, “Under the revised timetable for activities leading to the primary election as approved by the National Working Committee (NWC), the last day for submission of forms has been fixed for Friday, December 17, 2021.
“Screening of Aspirants is scheduled for Tuesday, January 11, 2022, at the National Secretariat, while appeals on screening have been slated for Wednesday, January 26, 2022.
“Ward congresses to elect 3-man ad-hoc delegates have been fixed for Wednesday, February 16 to Thursday, February 17, 2022, while Local Government Congress for election of one National Delegate and one person living with disability per Local Government has been scheduled for Saturday, February 26, 2022.
“The publication of delegates’ list has been scheduled for Saturday, March 5, 2022, while the Governorship Primary for the election is scheduled for Monday, March 7, 2022. Appeals on the governorship primary will be taken on Thursday, March 10, 2022”.
Meanwhile, aspirants that have shown interest for the Ekiti governorship position under the PDP include the former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Biodun Olujimi and eight other female aspirants.
The others are Mrs. Olumide Ojo Olukemi Olubunmi from Ido/Osi Council Area of the state, Chief Mrs. Arogundade Olutoyin from Ekiti East Local Government and Princess Adekemi Adewunmi from Efon Local Government.
Adesoye (Ado), Mrs. Titilayo Owolabi Akerele (Ikole), Mrs. Modupe Asaolu (Ekiti South West) and Mrs. Deborah Alo ( Ido/Osi).
The nine female aspirants were among other people (17 in all) that have so far obtained nomination forms and undergone screening at the National Secretariat of the PDP.
Speaking, Olujimi said her decision to join the governorship race was borne out of a desire to salvage Ekiti State from the woods through selfless service to the people, irrespective of their social status.
The lawmaker, representing Ekiti South Senatorial District, said she decided to throw the hat into the ring, following calls from the downtrodden, traditional rulers and eminent sons and daughters of the state.
Olujimi claimed that she had the quality and experience required to harness the vast state’s resources for productive and developmental purposes, adding that her political and public sector experiences had prepared her for the job.
She said she joined the governorship race to turnaround the fortunes of the state by revolutionising all the sectors of governance with focus on the masses and if elected, she would reposition Ekiti for economic prosperity by creating an environment for industry to thrive with a better approach to taxation that will reduce dependence on federation allocations.
APC’s Preparation
The All Progressives Congress has equally released the schedule of activities and timetable for the Ekiti and Osun governorship elections.
The National Secretary, Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party, John Akpanudodehe, said the announcement is in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and INEC guidelines.
According to him, for Ekiti, the notice of election to the state chapter of the party was scheduled for Monday November 15 and the sale of forms at the party’s National Secretariat is fixed for Tuesday, November 16.
“The last day for submission of completed forms and accompanying documents (National Secretariat) is Tuesday January 11, while the screening of aspirants is scheduled for Thursday, January 13.
“The publication of claims and objections is slated Monday, January 17 and screening appeals will take place on Wednesday, January 19.
“Primary election will take place on Saturday January 22, while election appeal will be held on Wednesday January 26.
“For Osun, the notice of election to the state chapter and sale of forms were s scheduled for Wednesday, November 17 and Thursday, November 18, respectively.
“The last day for submission of completed forms and accompanying documents (National Secretariat) is Friday, February 18, 2022 and the screening of aspirants will take place on Tuesday, February 22, 2022.
“The publication of claims and objections and screening appeals are scheduled for February 25 and February 28, 2022, respectively.
“Primary election comes up on March 5, while election appeal will be held on Thursday, March 10, 2022.”
According to the APC, the total cost of forms is N22.5 million. Both the nomination form and the expression of interest form cost N20 million and N2.5 million, respectively.
The party also said that female aspirants and physically challenged aspirants would pay 50 per cent of the prescribed fees.
Speaking with THEWILL, the APC Director of Publicity in Osun State, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, said, “APC is one of the parties that will participate in the governorship election of next year. We are overwhelmed by the support we are getting from all the corners of this state, which shows glaringly that the APC is cruising to victory even before the election. What can the PDP in particular campaign for or will say against our able Governor Oyetola?
“As we can see, Oyetola is not just in the Bola Ige House for nothing. He has touched the lives of so many people. And it can be corroborated. I mean it is evident that you can see a governor that is prepared to work. That governor is not even bothered about publicity. We thank God that we have him and we know we will win”.
Also speaking with THEWILL, the South-West Secretary of the PDP, Mr. Rahman Owokoniran, said the PDP will win both elections in Osun and Ekiti.
“The two states are traditionally PDP states. We lost them to APC due to internal wrangling. Now that peace and unity is being achieved, we are sure of victory in the two elections coming up next year”, he said.
INEC’s Preparation
The Independent National Electoral Commission has reiterated its resolve to improve on the two off-cycle elections coming up next year.
The electoral umpire said it would continue the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which was used in Anambra election but with some lapses.
By replacing Smart Card Readers with the BVAS, INEC intends to enhance the integrity of the electoral process by introducing additional checks to ensure that only eligible voters could cast ballots on Election Day.
In Anambra, the BVAS was used throughout the accreditation of voters in 95 per cent of polling units. However, in practice and as observed by election observers, BVAS malfunctioned and slowed the process, resulting in long queues and extended waiting time for voters. Some voters were discouraged from voting due to the malfunctioned BVAS and the time it took INEC technical staff to fix the technical glitches.
In its report on the Anambra election, Yiaga Africa said, “In 45 per cent of the polling units, the system malfunctioned at some point during the accreditation. The BVAS was replaced in 1 per cent of polling units and fixed in 39 per cent of polling units. In 5 per cent of polling units, the BVAS malfunctioned but was not fixed or replaced. In 3 per cent of polling units, the presiding officers resorted to manual accreditation of voters in contravention of INEC guidelines and regulations.
“The 2021 INEC manual for election officials clearly states that where the BVAS for replacement is not available by 2.30 pm, the presiding officers should inform the voters and polling agents that accreditation and voting for the affected polling unit shall continue the following day. Yiaga Africa notes that the commission did not adhere to this procedure in the polling units where the BVAS did not accredit the voters. Yiaga Africa expresses concern with INEC’s framework for adopting new electoral technologies, as the BVAS, though a valuable tool for electoral integrity, fell short of expectations.
“Yiaga Africa notes the value of adopting new technologies to enhance the credibility of the electoral process, including the introduction of the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IREV) to improve the transparency of the results declared at the polling units.
“Yiaga Africa commends INEC for deploying the portal for the election and further recommends that INEC reviews the portal to make the interface user-friendly and provide electoral results data in a usable format to facilitate citizens’ monitoring of the announcement of election results.”
Political observers and analysts believe INEC will correct the observed lapses in the Anambra governorship election before the next year’s elections.
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
