LASU Journal of Public Administration and Management 1 Vol 2, No 2, October, 2020 LASU Journal EVALUATION OF THE ELECTORAL PROCESS OF THE 2015 GOVERNORSHIP defines the electo ELECTION IN STATE, people from parti 1 2 Kalu , Tony and Gberevbie , Daniel Eseme nation's democratic Department of Political Science and International Relations Elections are an Coven ant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. democracy in the 1 v tony [email protected] Ad ebiyi ex1 2 (2016) Contact: [email protected] key roles in the lar' Awopeju (2011) a Abstract posits that withoL Democracy has gained universal acceptance and periodic eledion is one of basic feature democracy; becau of democracy. Since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999, several elections have that people are E been conducted at both national, state local government levels. However, the 2015 representatives tc general elections served as turning points to the entire electoral process in Nigeria due to political officehold• the higher acceptance of their outcomes and peaceful transition recorded. The paper evaluates electoral process of the 2015 gubernatorial election in . The study to date, severa conducted. adopted the historical method by using relevant journal articles, newspaper~ magazines The and reports of eledoral bodies and agencies obtained from the internet. The study was re presented the fi anchored on the Procedural Theory of Democracy. The Content analysis method was to democratic g< used to gather from the data obtained, issues related to the eledoral process. The units 2015 general e of analysis include intra-party politics/candidates selection, campaign~ voting process spectators from and voters' behaviour, declaration of results and matters arising as well as performance eyewitnesses be of INEC Findings show that there was little intra-party democracy in the seledion of flag observers prone bearers among the two leading parties. Furthermore, the paper found that candidates achievement (Ade engage in different kinds of political campaigns such as media tour~ rallies, and social media posts. The study recommends that political parties should condud proper primary It is imperative elections and that INEC should improve its performances in future eledions by recruiting general elections and training qualified personnel for proper electoral conduct in order to advance turning point ir democracy for de velopment in Nigeria. history due to m: of widely held co1 Keywords: Democraf:Yt electoral process, gubernatorial eledion, political system, voting, of a destabilizin Lagos State, Nigeria were conducted 2015 without se 1. Introduction with political fraud, bad governance; characterized ele Democracy is a highly favoured form of ethnicity, religiosity, military interference, aftermath of e violence and host of other problems that government globally. Og undiya (2010) (Nkwachukwu, have continue to affect the country's argues that democracy overtime has been possible through acknowledged as the only proper and reputation around the world. George-Genyi electoral body - genuine way, by which people can be ruled. (2016) asserts that, Nigeria has been general election: Also, the United Nations ha ve continued to fighting to mount a sustainable and long ­ one. Therefore, call on authoritarian regimes in Africa and lasting democracy; the country's agencies of gov administrative landscape is branded by other parts the world to embrace political stability democracy. The need for political stability consistent inabi lity to carry out sincere democratic succe and virile democratic process is the yearning elections in which its people adequately of many Nigerians since independence. The choose their leaders. According to Ch international community is also concerned and Imhonopi (: According to Falade (2014), the level and with the electoral process in Nigeria seeing "political stab system of electoral involvement of voters the country's strategic position in institutions and determine the success of the electoral international politics as well as its role as the in their ways system of a country. Citizens must be "big brother" to other Africa n countries. It existence of a involved in t he electoral process by joining is believed that Nigeria should serve as an carry their assi political parties, engaging in electoral example or role model to other African (2015) pointec movement, voting during election and other countries by having a virile democratic marked the pr political events. He further arg ues that, in culture, which promotes free and fair history of Ni1 Nigeria, the case is different because of the elections as well as peaceful transition from President was unconstitutional tendencies such a selectoral one civilian administration to another. defeat. Seconc fraud, political uncertainties, ballot 'box However, since independence in 1960, the most seats in snatching' and violence which for now country's political life has been saturated 1 r, 2020 LASU Journal of Public Administration and Management 1 Vol 2, No 2, October, 2020 lRSHIP defines the electoral process discourages chamber of the Nigerian National Assembly people from participating actively in the (Senate and House of Representatives). na tion's democratic governmental affairs. Accord ing to Olowojolu and Ake (2015), out Elections are an important aspect of of 109 senatorial seats, the main conflicting democracy in the world over. In this regard, party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) Adebiyi (2016) expla ins that elections play won 64, beating the then governing party key roles in the larger project of democracy. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with 45 Awopeju (2011) aptly captures it wh en he seats. At the level of House of posits that without elections, there is no ic feature Representative, All Progressive Congress (ons have democracy; because it is through elections won 225 seats, whereas Peoples Democratic the 2015 that people are entitled to vote for their Party won 125 seats and additional parties ria due to representatives to give their approval to like the (LP), Accord Party (AP) ne paper political officeholders to govern. From 1960 and the All Progressives Grand Alliance The study to date, several elections have been (APGA) shared the outstanding 10 seats. ragazines conducted. The 20 15 general elections Furthermore, at States level, opposition if:udy was represented the fifth since Nigeria returned party (APC) won the gubernatorial election thad was to democratic governance in 1999. The in most States especially in the West and The units 2015 general elections allured foreign the North. Specifica lly, (APC) won in 19 7 process spectators from different sphere, as states, while PDP won in 10 states. The formance eyewitnesses both foreign and local APC (then in opposition) also took control of ~n of nag observers pronounced the poll as an most State House of Assemblies in the f1ndidates achievement (Adebiyi, 2016). country including Lagos State (Oiowojolu _& lnd social Ake, 2015). r primary It is imperative to note that the 2015 recruiting general elections in Nigeria depict a key Since pre-independence, Lagos State has advance turning point in Nigeria's administrative become platform for political engagement in history due to many reaso ns. First, in spite the country. As the busiest city in Nigeria of widely held concerns about the possibility and one of the most populated and rJ, voting, of a destabilizing outcome, the elections commercialized areas, Lagos has become were conducted on 28 March and 11 April the heartbeat of Nigeria's politics. governance; 2015 without serious clashes, that often Politicians within the state and federal level interference, characterized electoral processes and the have always shown interest in Lagos. Thus, ·oblems that aftermath of elections in the country the political process in Lagos State is often 1e co untry's (Nkwachukwu, 2015). This was made tensed and marred by controversy. possible through the determination of the >eorge-Genyi Therefore, the paper seeks to make an electoral body - INEC to conduct the 2015 has been evaluation of the 2015 gubernatorial general elections better than the previous e and long­ electoral process in Lagos State to unravel one. Therefore, strong institutions and country's the successes and challenges that were agencies of government are a catalyst to brand ed by experienced during the period of the political stability and a country's goal for out sincere elections, which can also stimulate similar democratic success. adequately studies in various states of the federation. According to Chu kwud i, Gberevbie, Abasilim In addition, the paper is structured into six 1e level and and Imhonopi (2019 :182), the realization of sections. Section one is the introduction, 1t of voters "political stability is when political relevant literature were reviewed in section 1e el ectoral institutions and systems are firm and steady two, section three is the theoretica Is must be in their ways of operations having the framework, section four consist of the :s by joining existence of authority without threat to methodology, section five is the discussion n electoral carry their assigned duties." Nkwachukwu of findings, wh ile section six is the m and other (2015) pointed out that the elections conclusion and recommendations. marked the principal time in the political ues that, in 2. Literature Review history of Nigeria that an incumbent :ause of the 2.1 Concept of Electoral Process President was defeated and conceded a selectoral Electoral matters are interesting topics of defeat. Second, opposition party took over ball ot 'box academic discourse s and debates. Scholars most seats in both the lower and higher h for now have continued to lend their voices as regard the manner of electoral process in 2 LASU Journal of Public Administration and Managemen t 1 Vol 2, No 2, October, 2020 LASU J Nigeria especially du ring 2015 overall elections. He explained that, experiences elections. The 2015 presidential election in have shown that rather than being Dahl and Stin Nigeria had come and gone but the indelible independent of the executive, electoral democracy i! rule . They , footprint it left in our memories will linger institutions in Nigeria's political antecedence for some time to com e. Iredia (2007) points are often in roman ce with the incumbent military is le .. democracy, c . out that electoral process encompasses all govern ment at the federal level. Hence, be subjectec statutory processes, actions and elections have not been credible and establishmen engagements included in the administration accepted by the generality of the citizen s in and period ic of votes that usually end in the election of Nigeria (Luq man, 2009). aspirants for a num ber of administrative theory to th Among the several factors responsi ble for offices. It is in this light that Nwabueze superiority the faulty elections in Nigeria is (1993) argues that: democracy c ineffectiveness of electoral umpire (INEC) Electoral process includes the system. The which serves as a mediator in the electoral suffrage, the reg istration of votes, terms of wr process (Abati, 2006). Furthermore, . the right to contest elections, bri nging abo Adel eka n (2016) arg ues that the activities of country or nc delimitation of constituencies, Independent National Electora l Comm ission electoral competition between rival This is basec (INEC) in Nigeria are mixture of blessings political parties, the body charged only prod uce and sadness. Accordi ng to Adeleka n (2016), with the conduct and supervision of democracy this does not mean that INEC was election, the method of selection of the promoti inconsequential, but it meant to be on the candidates, the actual conduct of ability to ele path to perfection if what wa s experie nced election, method of voting, the offices. Whe in past elections wa s improved upon. It is determination of results, trials and to govern in right to conclude that the importance of the determination of election disputes, accountabilil electoral process for sustainable democratic electoral malpracti ces and their ability of t~ governance in the contemporary world consequences (cited in Adagba, good policie cannot be over emphasised. This is beca use 2007: 44). such a so research has shown that "elections across Ibrahim and Mato (2015) explain that Duruji & AI the globe perform the key fu nction of against the norm of severe election the pre par choosing re presentatives or leaders based malpractice that cha racterized Nigerian parties, It\ on the choice of the electorates and politics since independence, the 2015 security agi therefore, an im porta nt element of general elections rem ained an exception in rules adhe democratic governance" (Ajagba, Gberevbie Nigeria and even in Africa . In addition, proce ss, de & Agbu, 2020:57). citizens' participation and behaviour are mirage. Pr ce ntral to political lif.e of any country. That is 3. Theoretical Fra mework candidates why; George-Genyi (2016) opines that, The study adopts the procedura l theory of free campa active electoral involvement and voting democracy as its theoretical framework of results of E activities of people in Nigeria go a long way ana lysi s. Procedural theory of democracy all political in determining the effectiveness of the embodies the funda mental of the liberal to achieve political process of the country. type of standard reg ime. Advocates of premise tt Furthermore, for the civil strength to be procedural t heory (Powell, 1992; Dahl & State gube upheld in Nigeria, the voting procedure must Stinebrickner, 2005) take notice of the be friendly, and perm it for manifestation of effectiveness and adherence to laid down the political autonomy of the general public, procedu res, processes, guidelines and also giving awareness to the social and techniques (elections), human rig hts - economic security of the people (George­ factors that are req uired for a democratic Genyi, 2016 ). setting and its operation . The opinions Table 1: r expressed by Dahl and Stinebrickner (2005), As noted by Luqman (2009), countless deal on electoral issues share certain theoret ical of the issues confronting voting and juxtaposition with those of Powell (1992). electoral process in Nigeria's independence Th ey suggest in their effort at a modification history can be con nected to behavioural of the democratic theory that the best dispositions of the political class; a large suitable term to define democra cy is percentage of the blame need also be "Polya rchy ." placed on the door-post of organizations that is responsible for the conducts of the Accessed f

3 !r, 2020 LASU Journal of Public Administration and Management I Vol 2, No 2, October, 2020 :, experiences than being Dahl and Stinebrickner (2005) point out that 4. Research Method ive, electoral democracy is about civil and not military The study adopted the historical method I antecedence ru le. They argue that even though the through relevant secondary data obtained he incumbent mi litary is lesser to civilian command in a from journals, books, government records !vel. Hence, democracy, citizens on their part needs to and INEC documents to evaluate the 2015 credib le and be subjected to rul e by means of the gubernatorial electi on in Lagos State, the citizens in establishment of sound electoral processes Nigeria. The secondary data covers a wide and periodic elections. The strength of the range of documents and information on the theory to this study is in the area of the subject matter. Content analysis of a !sponsible for superiority of the people's will in a number of exi sting papers, published and Nigeria is democracy over authoritarian governmental unpublished, news of election eyewitnesses, mpire (INEC) system. The limitation of the theory is in INEC and media re ports were used to arrive the electoral terms of whether democracy is capable of at the conclusion about the outcome of the Furthermore, bringing about participatory governance in a 2015 Lagos State gubernatorial election. 1e activities of country or not. I Commission 5. Discussion of Findings This is based on the fact that elections can ~ of blessings The discussion on the findings is carried out only produce accepta ble outcomes that see !lekan (201 6), based on themes that form the concept of democracy as a governmental system for INEC was electoral process as adopted in this study. to be on the the promotion of development due to its These include intra-party politics, ; experienced ability to elect competent people into public candidates' selection, campaigns, voting, offices. When competent people are elected d upon. It is and declaration of results, matters arising >rtanee of the to govern in a democracy, transpare ncy and after the election and INEC scorecard. le democratic accounta bility are promoted due to the ability of the government to put in place 5.1 Intra party Politics and Selection of )Qrary world Candidates 1is is because good policies for development to thrive in such a society (Gberevbie, Ayo, Iyoha, Political parties play significant roles of ctions across providing platforms for ind ivi duals to contest function of Duruji & Abasilim, 2018). However, where the preparation of government, political for political positions. It is believe that !aders based parties should have ideologies, which :torates and parties, INEC, interest group and the security agencies are not planned for, and individuals would identify with in making element of choices regarding where to pitch their >a, Gberevbie rules adhered to by all in the political process, democratic governance becomes a political tents as well as sway citizens to mirage. Procedu res such as selection of vote for them. During the last gubernatorial cand idates within political parties, violence­ election in Nigeria, as usual, Lagos State 1ral theory of free campaigns and the declaration of actual had one of the most strongly contested 'ramework of results of elections must be adhered to by elections due to its position as the nation's f democracy all political actors for the democratic process commercial hub and the stature of the f the liberal to achieve its desired outcomes. It is on this participants involved. Initially there were 15 \dvocates of prem ise that this study evaluates Lagos governorship aspirants for Lagos State, but l92; Dahl & State gubernatorial election of 2015. only 5 are left as the other 10 pull out for 'tice of the (APC) candidate, . :o laid down The five candidates who contested the jelines and elections on April 11, 2015are as indicated m rights - in table 1 below: a democratic lle opinions :kner (2005), in theoretical >well (1992). modification at the best !mocracy is

4 LASU Journal of Public Administration and Management I Vol 2, No 2, October, 2020 LASU The aspirants who stepped down are employ in order to make them known as flooded tel' Obadia Akinola of Independent Democrats well as sway pe ople to vote for them. newspapers (ID), Babatunde Sarumi of the Allied Ojekwe (2015) and Opei bi (2006) assert Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Ishola t hat for any self-governing method to 5.3 VotE Aregbesola of Action Alliance (AA) and succeed, it is necessary that parties and Behaviour Adeshina Buruji of the Accord Party (AP). aspi rants make ava ila ble the voting public The amoun Others are Abiod un Oyegunle of the with ample facts on party procedures and elect their African People's Alliance (APA), Adeshina political plans to aid electorates pick their public's P' Olayokun of the All Prog ressives Grand nom inees based on adequate facts. To 2016). Stn Allia nce (APGA), Victor Adeniji of KOWA accomplish this, political pa rties engage in voters in a Party, Sylvester Eze of the Citizens Popula r campa igns. Campaig n encompasses (2007), con Party (CPP), Sesan Olatunde of the New lobbying, seeking endorsement, posters utmost im1 Nigeria's People Pa rty (NNPP) and Pauline distribution, rallies among others. people," n Ojochide of the Progressives People's choices thrc Political campaign also known as political All iance (PPA). Roberts (20 marketing or advertising is common feature overall tota It is imperative to note that the major of Nigerian politics especia lly in Lagos. election, al contestant in the governorship elections During the 2015 gu bernatori al elections in The figures were Akinwunmi Ambode of APC and Jimi Lagos, political parties and aspirants solicit 2015 gene1 Agbaje of PDP . Ambode in particular is said for votes through massive rallies, politica l at 43.65 to be the anointed can didate of posters, music and jing les as well as registered has been the political powerhouse of Lagos documentary among others. Ojekwe healthy for State especially within APC. Thoug h many (2015:3) states that "the just concluded democracy party faithfuls faulted the imposition of 2015 gubernatorial election in Lagos state people's c Am bode as the gubernatorial cand idate in saw parties and aspirants engulfing many serves as Lag os State, Bola Tinu bu was not deterred. media platforms with advertisement process; its Idowu (2014) posits that ma ny individuals promotions all struggling to win electorates descri bed the emergence of Ambode as a votes." Both traditional media and new As of 2015 selection rather than election, regardless of media were well employed. 9, 013,534 the travesty of trying to make it look li ke a registered l fa ir primary election. I n some ca ses, celebrities and leaders were gubernator employed to endorse candidates. APC voters' w The People's Democratic Party (PDP) in cand idate Ambode has the best of participate Lagos have been opposition party since endorsement. Amalu (2015) writes: Table 2: B to date. Unlike APC, the choice of Talking of endorsements, the APC 1999 5/N candidate for the 2015 gubernatori al candidate surely has his bag full, election was not a difficult one and those with very significant endorsers. The not attract much debate li ke that of APC. first and perhaps one of the most The reason is that Jimi Agbaje (PDP treasured endorsements came from cand idate) was not new to the pol itics of the traditional ruler of Lagos. Lagos though he has to struggle it out with Interestingly, before Akinwunmi Musliu Obanikoro. Jimi Agbaje was the Ambode became a household name flag bearer of Peoples' Democratic Alliance and a gubernatorial frontrunner, in (DPA) in the 2007, an d cand idate with PDP record time, Oba Rilwanu Lukman in 2011 election where he gave a good Akiolu, openly en dorsed Ambode as showing. One key fa ctor tha t shaped the the anointed cand idate, to take over emergence of gubernatorial cand idates in the governorship of Lag os State. the two political parties (APC and PDP) in La gos state during the . 2015 election wa s Sim ilarly, it has been observed that, the clamour for Christian governor in Lagos. musicians like Olamide, Dammy Krane, Both parties were not ignorant of this fact. Iceprince, Yemi Alade and Obafemi Martins have showered their support for 5.2 campaign Activi ties: Monetization Ambode through their social media accounts of the Electoral Process and various ra llies (Bada, 2015). Other El ections into any political office are al ways ca ndidates especially that of PDP were not branded with numerous actions, there are left behind their cam pa ign efforts, they also several political ta ctics that competitors

5 2020 LASU Journal of Public Administration and Management 1 Vol 2, No 2, October, 2020 1 known as for them. flooded televisi on houses, radio stations, accredited and only 1, 495,975 casted their 006) assert newspapers, posters, and social media. votes which represent 28 .8 percent turn method to 5.3 Voter Turnout and Voting (Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, 2015 ). parties and Behaviour It was believe that the gubernatorial )ting public The amount of voters who turned out to election in Lagos was largely peaceful void edures and elect their rulers is vital in knowing the of ballot box snatching, fighting among ; pick their public's pol itical involvement (Agaig be, other as it was in time past. The major facts. To 2016). stressing on the significance of drawback is the little voters' turnout with engage in voters in a Rep ubl ic Kuenzi and Lambright minor problems in few places (Ndujihe, 2015 1compasses (2007), contend that since democracy in its ). It, posters utmost importa nt sense is "rule by the 5.4 Outcome of the Election people," the number electorates making The end product of political campaigns is choices throug h voting is of importance. the result of election. At the end of the day, as political Roberts (2009) explains voter turnout as the the electorates want to have candidates of 10n feature overa ll total of ind ividuals that vote in an their choice as political leaders. The Lagos in Lagos. election, at times given as a percentage. gubernatorial election of 2015 lived up to !lections in The figures from INEC on the just concluded the billing in terms of the acceptability of ants solicit 2015 general elections puts voters turnout t he candidate that was declared as winner 'S, political at 43.65 percent of the 67,422,005 by INEC. At the end of the voting, Prof ; well as registered voters. This situation is not Isaac Adewole, INEC, returning officer for Ojekwe healthy for any democratic system because Lagos State governorship election, concluded democracy by meaning and action is pronounced Akinwunmi Ambode of APC as 3gos state people's ce ntered. People's participation winner having generated 812,394votes fing many serves as the catalyst for democratic against his closest rival Jimi Agbaje of PDP ertisement process; its growth and sustainability. who received 659,73 8votes. Out of the 20 ~lectora t es and new As of 20 , Lag os State has popu lation of Local Government Councils in Lagos State, 15 APC won in 15 local councils while PDP won 9, 013,534 out of which 5,822,207 were registered for elections but as of the time of in five . Ambode won Agbaje with a margin ders were gubernatorial elections only 3, 799,274 of 152,656 (Vanguard , 2015 ). Table 2 below tes. APC voters' were collected from INEC to sho~s ~he results of the gubernatorial best of . · t · th 1 ct' elect1on m Lagos State as released by INEC: ;: pa rt1c1 pa e m e e e 1on, 1, 678 , 754 were Table 2: Results of the Lagos State Gubernatorial Election of 2015 ! APC Result l full, S/N Name of Local Government Areas in Lagos State ;, The most from .agos. tunmi name :r, in kman je as over !.

~d that, ' Krane, l bafe mi >port for accounts ). Other Nere not :hey also

Source: www.inecnigeria .com 6 LASU Journal of Pu blic Administration and Management Vol 2, No 2, Octo ber, 2020 I LASU Jourm The table 2 above is the outcome of election Democratic Party's (PDP) gubernatorial state. The that supports the resu lt of pre-election aspirant Ji mi Agbaje. INEC's officE survey c~nducted for ANAP Foundation . in The tribunal on her part struck out Jimi southwest Ni~ colla boration w1th NOI ~o ils L1m1ted wh1ch Agbaje and PDP's petition on the ground on Monday w shows a close contest In the Lagos State that the "the petition were not delivered the attemp Governorship seat between the two topmost under the Electoral Act and therefore the Lagosians by co~tender~; candidate of . the APC petition was useless and that the inadequate PVCs. Akmwunml Ambode and candidate of the use of the card reader is not a reason to PDP Jimi Agbaje, with min imal five p~rcent oppose an election" (2015 General Election Aside the issu e po1nt ga p between the two. Accordl~g to in Nigeria The Compendi um of Petitions). PVCs and biom the pool respondents, Ambode led the list of ' election rigging contesta nts with 26 percent, while Jimi 5.6 INEC Score Card was not mUI gbaje had 21 percent. INEC is the statutory body that conducts gubernatorial ele elections in Nigeria. Since 1999, the places where rr 5.5 Matters Arising from the Election performance of INEC in elections across the not get to the Aftermath of election s in Nigeria often nations was not impressive. I ssues like delay situation was comes with allegations and cla ims of in delivery election materials and person nel observers as re: election fraud and fi ling of cases at the as well as conniving with politicians and recorded in the election tribunals. The Lag os gubernatorial parties to rig elections ha ve often been the performanc of 2015 was not an exe mption. After the leveled against INEC. The 2015 general gubernatorial election, the governorship candidate of the elections in Nigeria came with innovations compare to pt (PDP), Jimi Agbaje fil ed a petition at the like use of Permanent Voter's Card (PVC) begi nning of Fo state election tribunal challenging the and voters biometric among, others. While 6. Conclusio1 victory of All Progressives Congress INEC was generally commend ed for International c (APC) candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode. cond ucting an election that is consider bod ies might nc Both Agbaje and PDP served as the cred ible compare to previous ones, the of Nigeria to dr petitioner while the respondents were the performance of the electoral body in Lagos success or oth Independent National Electoral could be considered as average . Commission (INEC), Ambode, the APC and The 2015 gut the INEC Resident Electoral The delivery of the PVC was one of the has come and Commissioner (REC) for Lagos State, controversies regarding the performance of a success anr Akin Orebiyi. INEC in the elections. There were assertions growing in as well as allegations from the dominant two The petitioner opposed Ambode's victory on political parties - APC and PDP, that INEC three. grounds which incl ude INEC's non­ was technically bias in the distribution of compliance with Section 7 of its own 2015 PVCs. It was stated that the delivery and Abati, R. (2 Election Guidelines which provides for the collecti on of Permanent Voters Cards were Retrieved use of card readers in all polling units. The twi sted in support of the APC (Odebode, website second is APC's non -compliance with Aleehenu, et a!. cited in Omotola and http//WWI Section 85 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as Nyuykange (2015). This goes to support the Adebiyi, 0. I amended) which stipulates that a party must view that "the challenge among government Assessing give INEC 21 days' notice of the treaty officials in Nigeria bothers on behaviour that the 2015 where it intends to choose its governorship is unethical, which is a common occurrence" Retrieved candidate. Agbaje wa s also asserting that (Gberevbie, Joshua, Excellence-Oi uye and website: the APC aspirant stated in his JAMB form Oyeyemi, 2017:6). Unethical behaviour Aga igbe, F.t (REG No: 646789) that he's from Ilaje Local among public officials has permeated all voter tL Government Area in Ondo State while in his aspect of the country's social, economic and elections governorship form, he clai ms, under oath, to political life. This has generated protest Retrieve be from Epe in Lagos State. Furthermore, within Lag os State as re ported by Ugbodaga website Agbaje also sought for the annulment of the and Ebhomele (2014:1) that: http://W results of all polling units where card Protesters stormed the Lag os office content/ read ers were not used (Sotubo, 2015). of the Independe nt National Pa per-b ~ On the other hand; Aki nwunmi Ambode Electoral Commission, INEC, on Ajagba , C. ~ through his counsel Wole Olanipekun told Monday to complain about the (2020). the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal shoddy distribution of the process to discredit the petition of the People's permanent voter's cards, PVC, in the (1999-2 of the 7 ler, 20 20 lASU Jou rn al of Public Admi nistration and Management 1 Vol 2, No 2, October, 2020 gubernatorial state. The protesters stormed However, the election has some issues that INEC's office in Yaba, La gos, need to be addressed to prevent similar truck out Jimi southwest Nigeria, at about 9:50am problems in future elections in Lagos State. m the grou nd on Monday with placards protesting not delivered the attempt to disenfranchise To overcome the problems of poor therefore the Lagosians by allegedly hoarding the performance by INEC in future elections, the :he inadequate PVCs. issue of voters' apathy as experienced in 1t a rea son to past elections can be mitigated through meral Election Aside the issue associated with failure of robust voters' education and the wiliness of f Petitions). PVCs and biometric machines, cases of INEC and its officials to be more transpare nt election rigg ing with the support of I NEC in their dealings about electoral matters in was not much recorded in Lagos the country. Also, the imposition of that conducts gubernatorial election. However, there were candidates on political parties prior to 1999, the places wh ere materials and personnel did elections is a serious problem and challenge 1ns across the not get to the pooling unit on time. This to democratic principles at the party level. 1ues like delay situation wa s seen by many election lnd personnel observers as responsible for voters' apathy Therefore, political parties in Lagos State and indeed the entire country should put in oliticians and recorded in the election. On a general note, often been the performance of INEC in the Lagos place proper mechanisms to practice !015 general gubernatoria l elections was the be st grassroots democracy by encourag ing party 1 innovations compare to previous elections sin ce the members to elect di rectly who to re present their views at the general el ections. In i Card (PVC) beg inning of Fou rth Republic. )thers. While add ition, INEC should work ha rd to nended for 6. Conclusion and Recommendations compliment the success of 2015 general is consider International observers and international elections. Th is requi res early prepa ration in ; ones, the bodies mig ht not be abl e to observe all pa rts the area of personnel training, acquisition of )dy in Lagos of Nigeria to drawn conclusion reg arding the the required equipment and adherence to success or otherwise of election in Nige ria. prescribed rules and regulations guiding the The 20 15 gubernatorial election in Lagos conduct of elections in a transparent one of the has come and gone. The election is seen as manner. forma nce of a success and a sign that democracy is ·e assertions growing in the cou ntry as a whole . :Jminant two ', that INEC ;tribution of References lelivery and Abati, R. (2006). A flawed democracy. Commission. Academic Journal of Cards were Retrieved on 27th March, 2018 from the Interdisciplinary Studies. 9:_1), 56-69. (Odebode, website Amalu, G. (2015) "Why vote for Akinwunmi notola and http//www .dawodu. com/abtiii. htm. Ambode" Retrieved on 1st April, 2018 support the Ade biyi, 0. M. (20 16). Kudos or knocks: from the website jovernment Assessing the performance of I NEC in http://thenationo nli neng. net/why-vote­ 1aviour that the 201 5 genera l elections in Nigeria. " for-akinwunmi-ambode/ )CCurrence" Ret rieved on 30th March, 2018 from the Awopeju, A. (2011). Election rigging and the Oluye and website : www. uni lorin.edu.ng problems of electoral Act in Nigeria, Afro behaviour Agaigbe, F.M. (201 5) . Voter apathy and Asian Journal of Social Sciences, 2( 24) 11eated all voter turnout in the 2015 gene ral Quarter IV 2011. momic and elections: The benue experience. Chukwudi, C. E., Gberevbie, D. E., Abasilim, ~ d protest Retrieve on 27th March, from the U. D. & Imhonopi, D. (2019). 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~a, Sotubo, J. (4 August, 201 5) Nigeria elections Ugbodaga, K. & Ebhomele, E. (2014). 2015 meet t he gove rno rship candidates Protest rocks Lagos INEC office over an for Lagos State . Ret rieved on 1st April, shoddy PVC distribution. Retrieved on an 20 18 from the website 1st April, 2018 from the website http://www.pulse.ng/ news/politics/niger http:/ /saharareporters.com/2014/1 1/10/ ~s, :o­ ia-election s-201 5-meet-the-governorship protest-rocks-lagos-inec-office-over- )ld shoddy-pvc-distribution · Jrg ril, :ite tio

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