Appreciable number of contestants and electorate in Ogun State, including serving and retired political office holders as well as security agencies have applauded Attahiru Jega-led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting what appear a credible presidential and National Assembly elections last weekend.
The commendations came against the backdrop of the smooth and quick voting exercise experienced in almost the polling units in the 236 wards across the state with the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo and Ashimu Argungun, DIG Southwest zone, leading the pack of voters who applauded the maiden Nigeria’s electronic voting platform.
The former president, who spoke shortly after he was accredited by electoral officers at African Grammar School polling unit, Ward 11 in Abeokuta North Local Government Area, said election “is a constitutional issue and every four years whether for all elective officers in Nigeria, we must go through this ritual”.
Ashimu Argungun, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Southwest zone, also said: ”The election is perfectly alright; I am DIG Ashimu Argungun in charge of the South- west for the election, almost from Lagos down to here and other South- west, things are going on perfectly as expected, everybody is conducting themselves in line with the dictates of the election exercise.
“In terms of peace, everything is going on peacefully; I can rate the level of peaceful conduct at 9+ per cent, even above that, in terms of peace even everywhere I visited, no fight and no argument of whatsoever,” he said. In the state, security agencies, including Army, police, Civil Defence, SSS and other paramilitary agents were seen at every strategic points and polling units manning INEC’s sensitive materials and supporting electoral of- ficers at polling booths.
Although there was a good number of men of the Nigerian Army barricading major roads and streets, especially entry and exit roads in major cities of the state, they never harassed anybody. Large turnout of voters was witnessed almost everywhere in the state despite heavy rain in Ado- Odo/Ota and some parts of Ijebu in Ogun East, but defied rainfall to cast their votes in a very peaceful manner.
Although, some challenges were encountered in some polling units in Ado-Odo/Ota, Abeokuta, Ilaro, Owode, Ijebu- Igbo, Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu, among other areas as a result of malfunction and slow pace of card readers, INEC was quick to react to the development.
