Polls: INEC did its best – Okei-Odumakin

Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, President, Women Arise for Change Initiative, on Wednesday said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did its best in the Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Okei-Odumakin said this in Lagos while reacting to the outcome of the elections.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, early Wednesday, declared President Buhari as the winner of the Feb. 23 Presidential Election.

Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 15,191,847 votes to defeat his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 11,255, 978.

Okei-Odumakin said: “Judging by the performance of INEC, particularly at the central level, the commission did their best.

“We must always understand that achieving a free, fair and credible election cannot be the responsibility of INEC alone.

“Without other stakeholders, particularly the security agencies, playing their roles, elections will always end up in shambles.”

Okei-Odumakin, also an election observer, commended Nigerians for conducting themselves peacefully and decried the rate of killings during the election.

“Firstly, let me commend the conduct of Nigerians, who were largely peaceful and orderly throughout the entire process.

“The election was characterised by so many shortcomings compared to the 2015 general elections.

“The cases of killings, mostly witnessed in many areas in the southern parts of the country, undermines the credibility of the election and cast great aspersions on the integrity of our security agencies, whose conduct throughout the process in several areas covered by local and international observers, are ignoble.

“It is quite sad that our country has to lose over 30 people, just for the purpose of organising what otherwise is a simple democratic activity, ” she said.