 Thank you so much for being part of the breakfast. We head straight to Oshun State as they're decided on the 16th of July 2022. Now the Independence National Electric Commission, INAG, has disclosed that it's ready to embark on a mock accreditation for three senatorial districts in Oshun State ahead of the July 16 governorship elections. A statement was actually made public by its public affairs officer, INAG, explaining that the exercise was part of efforts to ensure a each free governorship election. He said that the exercise would take place between July the 4th, the 5th and 6th local government areas, which include two registration areas, wards from each of the three senatorial districts across the state. Now in Oshun Central, the exercise would be held in Boreb and Oshogo local government while it would take place in Ileife in the east and Iakoyo in Ifenoth for the Oshun East senatorial district Idesanth and Iberdore local government area were selected in Oshun West senatorial district for the exercise. We have Ambrose Igboke, a political analyst joining the conversation this morning. Thank you so much for being part of the breakfast. Thank you for having a good morning. You had, you know, the thoughts of the umpire for the elections sounding very ready for the conduct of these elections. They're going to be having a mock accreditation for electorates. What do you expect and what should Nigerians expect? Well, the Nigerians should expect a lot from INEC. Honestly, when this INEC started some years back, I was one of the critics of the Republican INEC because a lot of times they'll have inconclusive elections here and there at the initial stage. But they picked up, they would say that the strikes, they have recorded especially in the last three years that I would commend the Nigerian INEC for doing a good job so far. Now, they have etched up the technology that Atahiru Jega introduced prior to the 2015 election and the unique thing they have introduced is the Bevas machine, a way that allows more high level of authentication. So, I was given to INEC. Now, our election is a precursor to the general election that will take place next year. So, we know that the show is not normally among the general echo of election where we have Mike's 9, 2003, you know, every four years. His own cycle is different from most part of the country. And this was due to the growth and the development we have in our democracy. Remember that in 2003, the PDP, you know, won basically the pipes out of the 60th Southwest, the governorship election there. And after that, a lot of that tenure in 2007, we started having court cases. And from the experience of Osho AKT, you know, and though Alhambra and a lot more, we started having resource of election being obtained by the courts in Nigeria and being a, you know, awarded to another candidate. So, Osho happened to be that and that is why they have an election in 2022 instead of 2023, which a lot of states have the general elections. So, I believe I know what it says is ready. And I urge I need to use this to consolidate the experimentation or demonstration that they are doing about the new electoral law. This is to test the electoral laws. It has been done in AKT and we should repeat that in Osho. Then the issue, what's happened in AKT? The issue of votes buying is still a major problem as widely reported by a lot of media as civil society organizations that monitor that election. So, I then should come up with strategies to minimize votes buying. That would be, so one of the issues about voter education, that is one of the ways to educate the electorate about voter buying. And I actually run for efforts in the issue of voter sensitization. So, whether we begin this and get this right, then they are aging towards making the 2023 election better for Nigerians. Okay, but you're saying that I actually come up with a strategy against vote buying. I mean, how can this be at this point in time? We also see that in AKT state, it was something that was a dominant, it was very evident it was everywhere because we saw videos of persons who were very proud to say that, hey, they actually sold their vote for a few notes. So, what can INEC do at this point in time? And would it really be just the responsibility of INEC to cop the issue of vote buying? There is this popular negative cliché in Yoruba parlance. When it comes to election, it's said that you vote, you cook a pot of soup. It's a euphemism for saying that when you vote, will give you money, and you can have yourself a pot of soup. So, that kind of thing should be that it should be demystified, that needs to be destroyed. And that is where INEC can come in. You say, if you have a pot of soup for four years, are you going to finish it? Are you going to depend on that pot of soup for four years? For example, so you cannot tell people that when a vote for you give them money, they can have and enjoy themselves with a pot of soup. That is where to begin, for example. So, voter education is to tell the populace, do not sell your future because of a pot of soup, as a lot of the political jaguars are being bandied around. Secondly, they should educate the voters on how to choose candidates of their conscience and not to be induced by money. Then INEC should also collaborate with security agencies to make sure that the people who openly, there are some people who stand by with wards of Naira notes. We saw EFCC swing into an action in equity, where some people were arrested for coming to voting centers with wards of money and inducing people to vote. So, it's a crime in Nigeria. Even though it's free ballot, it's a crime. And the example should be extended where more people should be arrested, but they should not be made to get close to the voting centers. People who come to the voting centers with wards of cash should be arrested. What are they doing with it there? All right. And then also, I think it's also time to start arresting those who are collecting the money at the voting center, because you cannot arrest only those who are distributing the money without arresting those who are collecting the money. And INEC should also watch out for the issue of after-comprinting voting, for example, and some people who raise the voter slip and then show the voting paper and then show it to an agent to ensure that you vote for your particular political party, and then so that I can collect your money. And they should watch out for those things. I want these partages to ensure that the voting booths are strategically located in such a way that you cannot vote and then show your paper to any agents to even confirm whether I voted for them or not. So that you saw that process between the giver and the taker. And in that way, you are destroying the smooth flow of the information within them, and there are sources of doubts. But if you just have it open and then the person can vote and show his paper to somebody behind to notice, then it encourages it. Well, great insight that you have actually raised this morning perspective as regards the issue of cobbing vote buying. But as much as that sounds very brilliant, it does that really even solve the issue. Because we understand that those who actually engage in vote selling, because you have those who are promoting or inducing voters to actually sell their vote, property is the issue. Does that even address the issue? I mean, when people are hungry, what do you expect of them? It's more like a survival aspect. It would just be it. So having them been arrested is great. You have the electoral acts, and you have the laws, and we have seen the EFCC swing into action in the akiti state. But does that really solve the problem in a long run? Do we hope not to see this because peasants have been arrested in the akiti state elections? Do you think that people will not sell their votes in a shun state? When you have a psychiatric patient for example, the person does not take, you don't leave the person to take pictures for himself or herself. We need to do a surgical operation to help some people from themselves, because some people are dangerous onto their votes. That kind of approach should be brought to your electorate. Most of the electorate, as you said, because of the things, they leave for the moment alone. So they collect these monies, and in the next step, when the press enters governance, they start complaining. These are the people that will get angry. Those are the people that will cause chaos. Those are the people that will cause all kinds of mayhem in the society, because of the anger against the system that they have to vote in. So, and then there is this, I talked about, oh, our votes don't count anyway, so let me just collect what I want. This is a very negative narrative. So I'm actually indicating that if your votes don't count, why do they not pay you money? It's because your vote counts, that is why you are even in gives in the first place. If you are not useful to the process, they will not even approach you with that money. Ambrose Bokeh, let's just quickly just look at this particular aspect of it now, because we really do not have time. It's a good thing that you have INEC saying they're going to be having the mock accreditation for the electorate. But the question here is, how does that impact on the elections on the 16th of July in terms of the conduct, I mean on the path of the umpire, and all the issues also as well with the election. That's on the one hand. On the other hand, voter apathy is one thing that's dominated the political process and elections over time. There are several factors that are responsible for all of that, some of which you have mentioned. But according to the commission registered, you have a number of registration areas in the state at 332 with 1,955,657 registered voters, while 335,298 permanent voters have been collected. Ambrose Bokeh, do you think that there will be a situation of voter apathy, calm the 16th of July in Oshun state? What there's a rainbow movement now, especially among the youth populace. We need to juxtapose that with the number of registered voters and those who have collected the PVC. When those who collected the PVC and the first of all INEC should ensure that people collect that PVC by making it easier, because sometimes the process of collecting PVC is so cumbersome. While the North has mastered the art of putting these PVCs, making it easy, down here in the South, I don't understand what is happening. People queue up, people up early morning at 5am to collect PVCs, so they get frustrated and leave it. So they should use the traditional rulers, we should use the church religious leaders, we should use community leaders, we should, INEC should go down and make collaboration with these groups of people, so that it will be easier for people to pick INEC, INEC PVCs. Someone does not need to come to local government to pick. They don't decide, they say where they have decentralized voting, by making sure that you even vote in the nearest vote in every trekable distance. That should be the way, collection of PVCs should be decentralized. And when this is done, you will see that a lot of PVCs will not be in the INEC offices. But right now, INEC offices just hold up in local government secretaries and take people to come all the way from all the hinterlands to collect it. That should not be how it is. And they should take a queue from what is happening there on the distribution channels of INEC PVCs and down South they should download it. So my question is, do you see, you know, voter appetite playing, taking, you know, I don't see, I don't see it's taking place. And there's a rate of complaints that people are becoming conscious of the political power and authority. And so they will come out. And people are, you say that people, you're saying that people will come out, what would they come out to do if you have the number of registered voters at 1,955,257, persons who have registered? And if you look at the number of persons who have collected the PVC, it's less than half a million. So how are they going to cast their votes? An election of Nigeria is not based on abstracts and permutations. No, this is not... I have to let you go now. I mean, because we have the news at nine o'clock, thank you so much. But you lost me there. If you have 1,955,000, if I'm not mistaken, 257 persons who have registered to vote. And then you have only 335,000 persons plus who have collected their PVC. How do you vote without the PVC is the question. Thank you so much, Ambrose Ibuke, for being part of the breakfast this morning. Thank you for having me. Thank you so much. Ambrose Ibuke is a political analyst. And we have been looking at Oshun State, the INAG accreditation mark for electorates as Oshun decides in July the 16th. What becomes of all of this? These are some of the questions fingers across will definitely bring you all of the odd things as we proceed in the political year and process. If you missed out on any part of it, it's all right to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Subscribe to our YouTube channel at Plus TV Africa. And Plus TV Africa lifestyle. I am Messi Popo.