By Olaitan Oye-Adeitan
It was just a month ago that the 2023 general election ended with the conduct of Governorship and House of Assembly elections, precisely on the 18th of March, 2023.
The election began with the Presidential and National Assembly elections with the presidential fielding major contenders including Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party, NNPP.
However, the governorship election was only conducted in 28 states of the Federation.
In Oyo State, the election saw the incumbent governor, Seyi Makinde, seeking a second term under the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP while the APC presented Teslim Folari as the flagbearer and Adebayo Adelabu as the governorship candidate of the Accord Party, A.
While the presidential election produced Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu of the APC as the winner of the poll, while that of Oyo State saw the emergence of Seyi Makinde as the governor-elect having cleared 31 out of 33 local governments.
Due to electoral malpractice, The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared the governorship election in some states inconclusive.
The outcome of the election had since been attracting reactions and counter-reactions on how well the nation faired in the conduct of the election.
Expressing their views on Mid-Week Cruise, a socio-political-economic programme, anchored by Dayo Adenuga and Belinda Quadri on Premier Fm, a cross-section of residents of Ibadan, said the outcome of the elections particularly the governorship in Oyo State, was indicative of the peoples’ choice, just as seen in one of the comments,
“The election showed that the people of the state believe in the efficacy of his campaign promises. A campaign that was issue-based and the charming heart of a leader to set the pace in Oyo and a result of governor Makinde’s hard work and commitment to the welfare of the people of Oyo State”.
Some others however expressed reservations about the presidential election.
Analysing the elections, a journalist, Mr Oluwakayode Banjo, said the election was a reflection of ethnic and religious bias.
Meanwhile, statistics from the Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, showed that violence occurred in 10.8% of all the polling units.
Compared to the hitches experienced during the presidential and national assembly elections, the Centre for Democracy and Development, applauded INEC for improving its performance, especially in the use of the Biometric Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, during the governorship election.
In the assessment of some election monitoring observers, the election generally witnessed a low turnout compared to the 2019 general elections.
Reasons adduced include violence, intimidation of voters, online and offline threats, fake news and fear of the unknown.
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