Group Hails Edo, Ondo Polls

A civil rights group says the successful conduct of the recent polls in Edo and Ondo States show growing awareness and maturity of the Nigerian electorate.

This is contained in a statement issued by the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law in Onitsha, Anambra last Saturday.

The statement entitled: “Why Ondo State Election Results are Beyond Judicial Revocation’’, was signed by Mr Emeka Umeagbalasi, the Chairman of the group.

“The good lesson is that in no distance future, indiscriminate filing of election petition cases in courts will fizzle out if the polls’ results continue to reflect the true wishes of Nigerians.

“For instance, most of the 1,695 existing federal and state electoral seats in the country were judicially unrevoked after the 2011 general elections.

“Unlike in previous elections where petitions were filed in almost all of them, a reasonable number of the seats were not judicially contested.

“However, most of those contested were judicially affirmed particularly the 31 governorship seats.

“It is our total submission that the July 14 and Oct. 20 governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States are an appreciable improvement in Prof. Attahiru Jega’s Nigerian election midwifery.

“We commend INEC, the election monitors and observers, the Transition Monitoring Group and Women Arise for their dogged roles that made the Ondo polls a success,’’ it said.