Nigerians are expected to troop out on 11 March, 2023, to vote for their preferred candidates for the governorship and state houses of assembly elections.
Development Diaries reports that the state-level elections will be held in 28 states, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Also, 10,240 candidates would contest for 993 assembly seats.
The recent presidential election has brought upon many Nigerians a widespread feeling of dissatisfaction, mostly caused by INEC’s poor arrangement for the elections.
There are uncertainties as to if disappointed Nigerians will still come out in their numbers to vote on 11 March, or if the distrust in the electoral commission and the electoral process will lead to widespread voter apathy.
As the date for the elections inches closer, there have been various conversations among Nigerians, which border on ethnicity and religious lines.
Among the states to participate in the gubernatorial polls, Lagos State, Oyo State, Rivers State, Abia State, Enugu State and Benue State elections will be hotly contested due to the successful showing of opposition parties in the presidential election.
There have been various conversations on social media amongst various Nigerians arguing along ethnic lines and trying to discredit most candidates due to ethnic bias.
This however should not be the case, as there are lots of issues to be talked about in respective states of which the electorates should be concerned about.
For example, in Lagos State, there have been recurring issues like traffic congestion, housing problems and hooliganism that have remained unsolved by various state governors.
Every state is faced with its own peculiar challenges, hence it behooves citizens of each state to take a look at those challenges and decide the best candidate to tackle them.
According Enough is Enough (EiE), citizens have been conditioned to pay more attention to presidential elections and to give less relevance to the legislative, governorship and local government elections.
Nigerians need to understand that their choice of state governors and local government chairpersons plays a huge part in making sure the right leadership is achieved for the country.
Development Diaries, therefore, calls on Nigerians to desist from engaging in tribalistic-based campaigns or religious-based campaigns, and focus on the real issues in choosing their state governors and their lawmakers.
We also urge INEC to improve its processes and procedures in order to give Nigerians a better election experience come 11 March.
Photo source: INEC
