Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to improve in future elections in the country.
Bamidele, who represents Ekiti Central at the National Assembly, said this when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.
The lawmaker, also the Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, lauded the outcome of the 2023 general election, urging the electoral umpire to strive hard to improve in subsequent elections in the country.
“The elections held within an atmosphere of expectations and sometimes of tension but what is more important is that at the end of the day Nigeria is here.
“We did not go into any chaos as feared by a lot of people and there was no breakdown of law and order even though there were moments of some schisms in some parts of the country.
“By and large, I want to say INEC was at its best compared to the previous election held,’’ he said.
Bamidele, also the Chairman, Southern Senators Forum, said it was necessary for the electoral umpire to take cognisance of some of the challenges faced at the last election and try to improve in future elections.
“What is important is for us to now take cognisance of the limitations and see how we can work around that so that as we go into future elections, there will be further improvements,” he said.
Bamidele said that 9th Senate had performed credibility well in terms of breaking news grounds by passing critical bills that had been pending for many years.
“A lot of the very fundamental bills that had been pending, issues that had been waiting to be addressed to turn our situation and economy around had been dealt with by the ninth assembly,” he said.
He named some of the bills to include the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) which had already made significant impact on the economy especially in the oil and gas sector.
“The Electoral Act has brought about a new law which will also become part of the legacy left by the members of the national assembly in the ninth assembly.
“This act is now leading to a situation where the votes of Nigerians are beginning to count with the introduction of technology and the new law which supports it.
“You have seen some other places that had always returned over three million votes today returned 300,000 votes.
“It shows the reality of our new political order and I have no doubt that we are also heading toward a new political order,’’ he said. (NAN)
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