Gov. Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State on Tuesday called on the INEC to adopt staggered elections to prevent malpractice in future elections in Nigeria.
Mimiko made the call in Akure while receiving his Certificate of Return from Prof. Lai Olurode, INEC National Commissioner in charge of the South-West zone.
Olurode also presented Mimiko's deputy, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, with his Certificate of Return.
The governor was accompanied by his wife, Olukemi, Labour Party National Chairman, Mr Dan Iwuanyanwu, and other top members of the party to the state headquarters of the commission for the presentation.
He said the success of staggered elections had made it a credible option to tackle the problems of election malpractice in the country.
“One critical element of my success is this staggered election.
“We did not deliberately craft it, it was crafted for us. It appears God has decided to intervene in our electoral affairs through staggered election.
“From my experience in the elections that took place in Edo and Ondo states, staggered elections would probably be one credible solution to the challenges of electoral malpractice in Nigeria,” he said.
Mimiko said that INEC should also work to ensure that the logos of political parties that were similar were not placed very close to each other on ballot papers to avoid voided votes.
He also advocated continuous voter’s registration to accommodate Nigerians who had attained voting age and prevent disenfranchisement of eligible voters.
The governor commended INEC for its commitment to credible electoral system.
He expressed gratitude to President Goodluck Jonathan for `delivering on his promise to provide security to secure our votes’.
In his remark, Olurode said that though INEC did not lay claim to perfection as there were bound to be challenges, `the important thing is to remove what remains of electoral malfeasance’.
He said the commission had zero tolerance for acts of indiscipline among its staffers.
“Only God knows the number of INEC officials that have been axed since 2011,” he said.
The commissioner, who said that over 40 per cent of voters turned up for the Ondo gubernatorial election, described the turnout as `the highest so far.
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