By Simon Ebegbulem

BENIN CITY – GOVERNOR Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has warned that if the much talked about electoral reforms failed to come into fruition before the 2011 general elections, Nigerians would mobilize to resist any attempt to rig the elections by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said “ it  is the only way to demonstrate to the Garrison Commanders of the ruling party that their effort at subverting the will of the people and entrenching themselves in office illegitimately could be challenged and thwarted. This is what our indefatigable, irrepressible leaders like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu have shown in their epic battle against oppression and their belief that this country must become a nation of citizens with inalienable rights to chose their own leaders”.

Kayode Fayemi

Governor Fayemi disclosed this during a lecture entitled “ An Insider’s View of a Broken Electoral System and Proposals for Reform”, delivered at the 2nd anniversary celebration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole in Benin City weekend.

The Governor insisted that even with the so- called amendment of the Electoral Act and the preparations of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the forthcoming 2011 general elections harbours more potential for electoral fraud and violence and stressed that unless Nigerians beam their searchlight on INEC, politicians and their agents, the nation would never experience a free and fair election.

“The fact that I have experienced first hand the evils of a broken electoral management system makes this lecture more experiential rather than academic”.

Faulting the current mechanism of reshuffling Administrative Secretaries and Heads of Operations of the INEC from one state to the other, Governor Fayemi suggested that “ a less disruptive approach is to return many of them to the headquarters, replace them with some of the officers at headquarters for the purpose of the 2011 elections.

Set up an independent monitoring mechanism that is transparent and fair and then embark on a major recruitment exercise which may or may not take effect before the next elections” he stated.