Ekiti First Female Gov Candidate Elebute -Hale lauds INEC on 2023 Presidential Election, Tasks President-elect On All-Inclusive Governance
By Rachael Onoja
Erelu Kemi Elebute-Halle, The Director General of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) presidential campaign in the 2023 election and the Governorship candidate of the ADP in Ekiti State during the last Gubernatorial election during an interview with heritage news reporter, Rachael Onoja, the ADP Chieftain lauds INEC on 2023 presidential election, tasks president-elect on all-inclusive governance, Except;
Question: what will be your reaction to the outcome of the just concluded election?
Response: my name is Engineer Kemi Elebute Halle the first female gubernatorial candidate in the just concluded election in ekiti state in 2022. When some of your correspondent came here from other media houses I earned my view, if you look at this election even somebody that has lost faith will know that it is the most transparent election that we had.
Nobody would have thought that his excellency Ahmed Tinubu would loose in Lagos, I think this is the second time in History of Nigeria that we are having such a credible election.
The first election that brought Mr President his excellency general Muhammad Buhari in is one of the credible election in the past, this is the second one that I have witnessed since I have been participating in election in Nigeria.
It’s been a lot of lesson to note, if you look at the numbers of registered voters and compare it to the numbers of the people that actually participated in the election I mean the people that went to their various polling unit to vote, you will know that yes its really far, that is one of the kudos I will need to give to Mr president his excellency major general Buhari, our people thought that money would play a major role, they even felt people will sell off their conscience we can see in one or two places where that happened, but it did not happen in ekiti state, people voted their values.
A friend called me from Gombe and said in my village, core village that nobody could feel that people would vote LP, he said people voted Labour Party, he said he was surprised, i said yes, because now people are left with their choices, youths are left with their choices, there individual choices, irrespective of their tribes and zone. It played out very well, I don’t think anybody should question this one.
Question: what will be your advice to the president elect? and what area do you think you can call on him for better? what area do you think he should call for changes in the country for better?
Erelu: I think the outgoing president has made alot of things easy. Especially now that we are trying to checkmate corruption in Nigeria, I think he would actually do a lot on that as well, If by himself he says that people can still live well by themselves without buying their conscience, now he will be able to select, you know, this thing is like somebody saying that if a product is good, check the people that you hired, if you want to see how good a product is, seeing the managers that manage, it I think his excellency should choose those that will be in power carefully.
incredibly, people are now looking on to him to see if what he can offer to Nigeria. People will want to see that he’s competence to do the will of the people. People will begin to ask if he is competent, I as well ask that question sometimes ago that is he not a little old but I know that age is a blessing age should not be considered as a thing that someone should not be stigmatized about, age should be a thing of Joy and that somebody is aged does not mean that his brain has pursed.
If you look at the people that his excellency Ahmed Tinubu has groomed, he has groomed a lot of people along the length and breadth of Nigeria the igbos Hausa and Yoruba I think he should have known by now in his 20 years of plan because I learnt that it took him 20 years to plan this he would have known in his 20 years of plan that he should be able to select people that is going to work with him.
So he should not be dull, he is a vibrant and educated and he’s someone that has been in politics, so he will know those that will vote into power
Question: are women allowed to vote fairly in the past election?
Erelu: I will tell you that it’s a woman election, I will now say that women involved in political positions in my local government where aborted, I can say 50 out of the 53 on the quoe and 99% of the popular vote is women, so I think women really got involved in fact, I think women really got involved in this one.
Question: Do you think women would be allowed to rule in Tinubu regime?
Erelu: At least not less than 40percent of government should be for women in all geopolitical zones, don’t pick a particular tribe should be allowed without being criticized, be it the Easterners, westerners, Southerners northerners and the middle belts, bring all of us together and don’t say that I didn’t get the number of votes I should get in Lagos, you’re supposed to govern everyone equally because people will be looking up to you as someone that got to the position credibly.
He should not say because the Igbo did not vote for me in Lagos I will sideline them, he should make the igbos also feel that they are loved, he should show love to all Nigerians, that is exactly what people are looking for, leaders that can look beyond tribes or party and select credible people that can work with them and I know he has done it before and he will do it again.
