Ekiti election crucial to perception of Nigeria towards 2019 poll, says AU group
The forthcoming governorship election in Ekiti State has been described as the way pointer, as the nation look towards the 2019 General Election as it would show how things would turn out, the African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC) has said.
AU-ECOSOCC, which is a group representing Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in 55 countries of Africa noted during a briefing in Ado-Ekiti, on Monday, that a credible election in Ekiti on July 4 could lead the rest of the country towards putting credibility in the 2019 election.
Representative and Chairperson, Social Affairs and Health, AU-ECOSOCC, Dr. Tunji Asaolu, who addressed the press urged all stakeholders in the Ekiti State governorship election to ensure that they do not do anything to denigrate the process.
He said: “Nigeria needs free and fair election for her greatness, survival and economic advancement. Ekiti State gubernatorial election will be a pre-factor that the world can use to measure the 2019 elections in Nigeria.
“Therefore, Ekiti State election is no ordinary election at this time, but rather an indicative election that will show to the whole wide world how serious Nigeria is with the emerging democratic dispensation.
“Nigerian prestige this time is on the line, the civilised world will not accept anything short of free and fair election neither will Ekiti citizens accept election irregularities as business as usual.
“What is expected of Nigeria is to organise and implement a free and fair election to the best of her knowledge, especially this time in Ekiti State.
“But the key issue is to produce a credible election results that are relatively free and fair, that majority of Ekiti people can accept as a credible result.”
