NIGERIANS, through their commitment and determination, made the on-going general elections successful and not the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Kwara State Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki declared yesterday.
The Chairman Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF), who spoke to journalists in Ilorin at the weekend noted that Nigerians have demonstrated readiness and preparedness to lead not only in Africa but in the whole world by their adherence to the electoral process leading to the conduct of the polls.
His words: "The success of today's election I think I am not giving the praise to INEC but to Nigerians because it is all Nigerians that have made it successful".
He commended Nigerians for their patience to ensure that they participate in the nation's electoral process.
According to him, "politicians should now see and learn from what Nigerians are telling them just as we need to change and see everything as a process."
Besides, the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Kawu Baraje, has urged losers to accept defeat in the interest of the nation's democracy.
Baraje, while addressing reporters in Ilorin at the weekend, said the PDP had in the past displayed a high level of sportsmanship, especially in such elections in which it had accepted defeats at the election petition tribunals to opposition parties in some states.
He described the PDP as a good stabiliser of the nation's democracy, especially by allowing its presidential candidate to come from a minority group. He urged other political parties to emulate the PDP's gesture.
For the PDP scribe, if Nigerians were truly following the examples of American democracy, "then we should no longer see elections as do-or-die affairs," adding that people should stop crying foul when elections seemed not to be in their favour.
However, stakeholders in the Nigerian political process at the weekend awarded a pass mark to INEC for the successful conduct of the National Assembly and the presidential elections on April 9 and April 16.
They said the electoral body would deserve a pat on the back if the remaining elections were handled without recording hitches.
Speaking at the weekend with a delegation of the Washington DC, United States-based National Democratic Institute (NDI), led by Cathy Rodgers and Mojibur Doftori, the Senator-Elect for the Lagos East senatorial district, 'Gbenga B. Ashafa, said Nigeria was already on the threshold of electoral history.
Ashafa described the process as a reinforcement of the popular creed of "when there is a will, there is always a way."
He noted that the pockets of irregularities in some places notwithstanding, "INEC deserves a pat on the back provided the same model of transparency and non-partisanship of the electoral officers was replicated in the remaining elections".
According to him, a successful democratic transition was all the country needed to join the club of politically stable nations.
"Countries/states whose governments are democratically and transparently elected enjoy a high degree of political stability," he stated.
Also, the House of Representatives member-elect for Ikeja Federal Constituency, James Abiodun Faleke, said the turnout of Nigerians was a demonstration that the people actually wanted a change.
His words: "It (turnout) is a reminder that the people actually have the power to vote out of office whoever is not serving their interest. But the elected officials should reciprocate the efforts of the voters by doing the right thing when sworn in."
In the meantime, no fewer than nine persons suspected to have played principal roles in electoral malpractices and violence that rocked the April 9 National Assembly elections in the North Senatorial District of Delta State have been arrested by the Police and would be prosecuted under the Electoral Act, 2010.
The police were said to have resisted moves by chieftains of a ruling party to have the men released on grounds of enforcing their fundamental human rights.
The suspects were allegedly involved in snatching of ballot boxes, illegal thumb-printing of ballot papers, impersonating members of the National Youth Service Corps, beating up Nigeria's High Commissioner to Sierra Leone, Ambassador Godson Echiegile and holding hostage, the Ika Federal Constituency Returning Officer, Dr. Godwin Avwioro, at gunpoint, to declare prepared false election results.
The suspects were alleged to have participated in falsifying the election result in the Ika North East Local Government Area where the PDP senatorial candidate, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, was accredited with over 20,000 votes as against about 4,000 votes scored by his rival, Prince Ned Nwoko of Democratic Peoples Party (DPP). In the botched House of Representatives election in Ika Federal Constituency, Chief Victor Nwokolo, of Accord Party, was said to have defeated Mrs. Doris Oboh of PDP, Dr. Isioma Okoba of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and Festus Chukwuyem of DPP. Sources said the police have relied on various reports by Dr. Avwioro, Ambassador Echiegile as well as the cheated politicians of various parties to move against the election fraudsters.
Apart from the suspects, some of the principal actors and victims of the Delta North crisis are said to have also been invited to Abuja for questioning to explain their roles in the electoral fraud and the impasse in the National Assembly election. Among them are Ambassador Echiegile who was brutalised by thugs and was hospitalised, Dr. Okowa, Prince Nwoko and Dr. Awvioro.
Source: Saraki, others laud polls conduct (http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45191:saraki-others-laud-polls-conduct-&catid=1:national&Itemid=559)