THE Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, on Monday expressed concern over voter apathy in the South-West, calling on leaders in the zone to do something about it. According to him,  the All Progressives Congress will work towards boosting people’s interest in politics in the zone.

Ojudu, who spoke in Ado Ekiti while reflecting on the low turnout during Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly polls in Ekiti State and other South-West states, called for voter education in the region.

He said, “Our leaders must do more recruitment of people into the electoral process. We must tell the self-sufficient elite to take interest in voting, this is the best way to get it right.”

He lamented that less than 1.5 million out of the over five million registered voters voted in Lagos during the presidential election.

Ojudu said, “This is an issue of concern for all of us. We must address it if truly we want to be relevant or translate our population into benefits and recognition.

“Going by the statistics released by Independent National Electoral Commission, the computation of the result of the presidential poll in Lagos, showed that less than 18 per cent voted.

“If you check the result, in Ikoyi, Victoria Garden City and Lekki, where we have a large concentration of elite, only a few people came out to vote. So, it is an issue we must discuss and address critically and that we are going to do.”

Ojudu urged INEC, the National Orientation Agency and political parties to ensure voter education in the zone.

He said,  “I don’t want to believe that leadership failure is responsible because elections are meant to correct any poor performing leaders. If we have leaders that are not performing, we must come out during elections and vote them out. So, leadership failure is not enough justification for anyone not to vote.” – Punch

– Mar. 12, 2019 @ 7:29 GMT |