Osun Governorship Poll: Rolling the ball as precursor to 2023 General Elections
Preparation towards the Governorship election in Osun State, set for Saturday, the 16th of July 2022, have attracted shares of concerns. Although, the issues of concerns surrounding the election are largely not strange to the narratives common with the Nigerian political setting as pertaining election, yet the demands for the desideratum will necessitate that reflections of calls to put order in place be not left out of the scheme of activities. The quest of the thrust for advancement in the Country’s electoral system will also justify the discourse for the systemic demands for the course of order to take its place to fulfill the right features of what a credible, fair, and free election demand.
As the cloud towards the election gather momentum, the need to give assessment to the level of preparation pari-passu the issues surrounding the process becomes a necessity. The essence of such assessment becomes pertinent, given the centrality of the election as the major precursor to the 2023 General Elections. For instance, reflecting the concentration of national and international interest on the 2022 Osun governorship election, it has been gathered no fewer than 87 observer groups, comprising 79 domestic and eight international groups, deploying a total of 7,790 field observers have been accredited for the poll.
Accounts of the level of preparation have shown statistics from different sides of critical stakeholders. For instance, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun, Prof. Abdulganniy Raji, at the Tuesday 12th July 2022, stakeholders meeting in Osun, mentioned that to ensure that the Commission announces results in less than 12 hours, all the stakeholders must collaborate and work harmoniously towards a common goal of a free and conclusive poll. According to him, all non-sensitive materials were already batched to polling unit level, while sensitive materials should arrive on Tuesday, the 12th, July, 2022.
However, such other challenges as apathy may not be off the record as the election draws close. For instance, as at Tuesday, data reeled out by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, at the stakeholders meeting held in Osun State on Tuesday, disclosed that about 476,062 Permanent Voter Cards were uncollected three days to the election. According to him, 76 percent of registered voters had already received their PVCs. “I appeal to all registered voters that have yet to collect their PVCs to seize the opportunity of the additional measures to do so. Many of the PVCs have already been collected by citizens. Of the 1,955,657 registered voters in Osun State, 1,479,595 (or 76 percent) have collected their cards as of Sunday, July 10, 2022,” the INEC Chairman was quoted.
Yakubu added that all non-sensitive materials for the election had been delivered to all 30 Local Government Area offices across the state. He said for more effective supervision of the process, INEC would deploy five national commissioners, 12 Resident Electoral Commissioners and many senior officials to support the State office. He further stated that the collection of PVCs from the 30 LGA offices had been devolved to each of the 332 Wards across the state, thereby increasing the number of collection centres and bringing the process closer to voters. He disclosed the distribution of PVCs would continue till Thursday, July 14, 2022.
On the part of security profile, the Police and other security agencies, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps have declared their readiness to man the election with sufficient manpower to forestall foul eventualities. It has been gathered that the deployment of police personnel will also be complemented by soldiers, the Civil Defence Corps, and the Amotekun Corps. Among others, for instance, the Police Force has said it would deploy the Federal Intelligence Bureau, Tactical Corps and the Special Forces to curb such malpractice as vote-buying. Speaking at the Election Stakeholders’ meeting held in Osogbo on Tuesday, the Inspector-General of Police, Baba Alkali, had disclosed that 21,000 policemen would be deployed for the governorship election.
The place of the Osun 2022 Governorship election holds a central course in reckoning the level of preparation and capacity of the INEC and other critical stakeholders towards the much expected 2023 General Elections. The disposition of the stakeholders to the process, the degree of the meticulousness of the electoral management body, the degree of the quality of the process, are subjects of concern to weigh not only the level of preparation, but also the orientation of stakeholders, as subject matters key to perceptions towards the build-up of the 2023 General Elections. Such is pertinent for assessment-profiling to understand areas of defects demanding amelioration and improvements for better records of a General Election in 2023. For instance, calls on the National Assembly to speedily pass the Electoral Offences Commission and Tribunal Bill has been on course as part of actions demanding necessity for a better poll. This reflects the demands on the importance of the roles all stakeholders have to play for a better electoral process in the Country. Sincerely giving expressive turn to the accounts of the Saturday poll remain pertinent as a firm precursor to the buildup of the 2023 General Elections. It is pertinent that all stakeholders from institutional authorities to the citizenry play their roles intelligently and concertedly.
