Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State has raised doubts over the conduct of the 2023 general elections and the state’s June 16, 2022 governorship election amid the worsening security situation in Nigeria.
Fayemi disclosed that the increasing level of security challenges facing the country posed a great threat to the conduct of the elections.
According to the governor, Nigeria must first have a nation before we are able to have an election.
Fayemi stated this in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, at a colloquium held in commemoration of this year’s June 12 celebration with the theme: “June12: Securing the Freedom of Democracy”.
He said: “We remember and celebrate June 12 because it represents the possibility of a new Nigeria where our fault lines would become our best lines, and our diversity becomes our strength.
“That is why even as we look forward to another election both here in Ekiti in 2022 and in Nigeria in 2023, I think it is absolutely important for us to always remember that we must first have a country before we are able to have an election.
“If we don’t have a country because we have succumbed to the forces of darkness, then we can kiss elections goodbye and that is why we must all come together – both those who are in government and those who are outside government – to challenge our leaders to do the right thing; confront the issues that divide us, promote the issues that unite us, ensure fairness, ensure equity and justice in our polity. Even as we fight to end criminality, let us unite against all forms of bigotry to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.”
