8th April, 2011
The cancellation of the National Assembly elections last Saturday has been described as the honourable step that Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, can take to give Nigerians a free and fair election.
This was the submission of Mr. Sogo Osikoya, Labour Party’s candidate for Ikorodu Federal Cosntituency, while speaking with Political Platform on the suspended election and his programmes for the people of Ikorodu constituency last saturday in the area.
According to him, “the action taken by Professor Attahiru Jega, the INEC chairman, was honourable. Though, we were disappointed that after preparing so much for the election and what we later heard was that the election has been postponed, for him to have come out and apologised and set another day for the election was a honourable thing to do.â€
Osikoya who advised the INEC boss to ensure that all necessary materials and arrangements for the rescheduled elections were supplied on time, however ,stated that open/secret method of voting being adopted by it may discourage the electorate to vote according to their conscience, as the presence of party’s agents may intimidate them and make them to vote against their will.