The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria has been urged by Seyi Makinde, the governor of Oyo State, to ensure that every voter's ballot will be counted in the upcoming general election in 2023.
After receiving a letter thanking him for being chosen as the recipient of Silverbird Communication's Man of the Year Award, the governor made this declaration. By "also guaranteeing that they count the ballots of Nigerians and that their votes count in the future general elections," he encouraged the organisation to borrow a page from their playbook.
The governor sent his warmest greetings for a prosperous and interesting New Year to the management and staff of Silverbird.
“We have not heard the last of Silverbird. I came from the business world, and I know how it feels if a business entity survived the first five years. You are 25 years old and going to be 26 now. So, it is an indication that you did something right, and you will be around for many more years to come. If you cross a quarter of a century, you are likely to get to half of the century and then to hit a century, which means the entity will outlive the people that started it.
“Silverbird has made an impact in the communication, journalism and electronic space. So, we know that you are not cheap and an award from Silverbird is a huge one. I did not have any difficulty in verbally accepting the award, because it is not a junk type of award.
“So, I want to thank the management of Silverbird and even the people of Nigeria, those people who participated in the voting.
“This is an election season for us and we want to use this opportunity to also tell the electoral umpire, INEC, to allow people’s votes to count. And when people vote, the votes should be counted and let it also count towards the result they will announce,” he said.
Governor Makinde lauded Silverbird for making a difference in the world through its journalism. He expressed gratitude to the publication’s management and staff for the respect they had shown him and the people of Oyo State.
The vice chairman of Silverbird’s Editorial Board, Jacob Akinyemi-Johnson, had previously said, “The governor polled 70 per cent of the votes to defeat other nominees, indicating that the public had been following his trajectory of good governance.”