ELECTORAL COMMISSION KICK STARTS POST ELECTION WORKSHOP IN OGUN

The workshop objectives include; review the operational framework put in place by the commission for the 2019 general election, to provide a platform for knowledge sharing among staff and key stakeholders in the local government areas and States, to identify success factors in the elections with a view to consolidating and sustaining them, and to highlight challenges in the elections in the Local Government Areas and States

Penpushing further reports that, expectations at the workshop  is to consolidate the identified strategies and successes, aggregation of different challenges for policy formulation, to harness information and materials for the report of  2019 general election, and recommendations for future elections

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. AbdulGaniy  Raji  in his welcome address said the  exercise is a worthy one especially with the developments in our democratic processes, pointing out that the Commission has always come up with the lessons learnt and experiences gained from one election to prepare and improve on the processes for subsequent elections.

‘This workshop is one of such exercises. Fair and logical that stock taking be dine after an exercise else it becomes meaningless. The 2023 elections is 1,337 days away and it is reasonable to make hay while the sun shines’, he said.

Penpushing further reports that, Ogun State , as fate would have it happens to be the first in the South-West and in the whole nation to kick start the exercise, stating that, ‘you will recall that we had planned to hold a similar workshop at the State level to review our performance at the State’

‘Alas, while planning, as if the Commission was reading our minds, we were contacted to organise this. Our assessment/review will still hold as it is expected to have larger participants cutting across all the stakeholders. An organisation that looks back and projects to the future during planning will always move faster and achieve her goals’,Raji stated.

Penpushing also reports that, the electoral boss enjoined all the participants at the workshop to express the love of the nation, speak honestly with a view to ‘build a nation where peace and justice shall reign’ with reflections in our elections.

‘Your contributions based on your experiences before, during and after the elections as well as your recommendations, no matter how little and unimportant you might consider them will be very valuable at self-assessment by the Commission, in preparation for the coming elections’.

‘I want to assure you that the exercise has no motive of witch-hunting anybody and all comments and contributions will be taken in good faith. Let me use this opportunity ones again to express my appreciation to the entire staff and all the ad-hoc of INEC Ogun State for the roles played during the election which led to a peaceful exercise’.

‘ I must also not forget the entire people of Ogun State, who promised us during our sensitisation exercises that they were ready for peace and they conducted themselves peacefully during the elections. The Commission must not be left out especially the show of appreciation extended to all the staff. These are indications that there is hope for this nation’,Raji concluded

The National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Deji Soyebi while declaring open the workshop said, all aspects of elections shall be reviewed,to guide the commission ahead of the 2023 general elections.

‘We shall review all aspects of election. This will help us for future election. The review is kick starting from Ogun State, and will still go across the nation. Time is not to be wasted for meaningful impact. We should start stock taking. We are not to witchunt’, Soyebi added