On Sunday afternoon the duo of Adewale Ogunniran of the Integrity Reporters and Tayo Aderinola of Lagos Panorama engaged the new Jagun Aare Ona-Kakanfo of Yoruba Land Hon. Mutiu Kunle Okunola on an incisive interview.
The All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain, Hon. Okunola who is also the National Coordinator of the TINUBU 2023 Not Negotiable (TNN) the mobilizing group of the Nigeria Reformation Unity Forum (NRUF) insisted for an immediate electoral reform in the Nigeria voting system. He opined for the use of electronic registration and e-voting as the only way for a credible electoral process.
He alluded that “the present Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) voters registration process is questionable and has been a huge conduits for electoral manipulation and frustrating resulting in voters apathy in our present electoral system, which continually aids selection of bad leadership in the country”.
“This is intentional unless Nigeria demands a total overhaul of the present system there can never be credible elections in the country with high record of voters apathy from the members of the public” Okunola asserted.
“Due to the current judgments of the Supreme Court it’s clear our elections are no longer credible. The election have several anomalies tailored towards rigging by INEC officials. They take money from candidates and foist results on the people”.
“When you look at the cumbersome of the processes and the heavy cost you wonder why can’t INEC just adopt the e-voting process to save both INEC and the voters the problems of election violence and judicial manipulation” Okunlola stated.
He challenged and called on INEC to brace up as he said the solution to election manipulation and violence is electronic voting. He further stated that INEC should create a porter to allow eligible voters that have come of age to register.
Okunlola called on the electoral umpire to adapt the use of electronic voting which has been used in developed nations to be reliable and devoid of violence and manipulation. He called on electoral commission Chairman Mammoud Yakubu to raise up his game before 2023 election.
“INEC should have an application like that of WhatsApp, the number of votes recorded at the Big Brother Naija is higher than our last presidential election”.
He cited election conducted in the United Kingdom recently that was conducted through electronic voting has was free and fair, he maintained. Challenged the reason behind having public holiday because of election, he called it an economic waste to the nation.
MKO, maintained that rather than rely on judicial victory instead of electoral victory, E-voting is the answer.
“With e-voting any manipulation can easily be detected, the cost of conducting the election will be reduced and violent that usually leads to the death of electoral officers and voters will be totally eradicated. INEC must be compelled to go into e-voting is subsequent general elections” averred the Jagun Aare Ona-Kakanfo of Yoruba Land.
Okunlola also alluded that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu should be supported to be the next Nigeria’s President “Since Asiwaju left office in 2007 he has refused to take political position but rather my leader has made a lot of people into position of authority”.
“He has discovered talents all over Nigeria. All tribes and foreigners lives in Lagos so who ever governed Lagos successfully can as well administer Nigeria successfully such a person will be good to be made President of Nigeria.
“He will make use of both human and natural resources that God endowed Nigeria with to develop us and make Nigeria great again”, Okunlola concluded.
