Osun Poll: Adeleke, AMBO, Others Enter Final Ring as Voting Activities Set to Begin
Voting activities are set to commence across Osun State as Governor Ademola Adeleke of Accord, the All Progressives Congress candidate, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, popularly known as AMBO, and other candidates enter the final ring for the governorship seat.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has assured political parties, civil society organisations, the media and the people of Osun State that Saturday’s governorship election will be free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive.
The commission said ballot papers and result sheets had arrived in Osogbo, the state capital, ahead of their distribution across the state. The materials were reprinted following a court judgment directing INEC to include the candidate of the Social Democratic Party on the ballot, bringing the number of candidates in the race to 15.
The election is scheduled to take place in 332 wards across the state’s 30 local government areas.
INEC said 1,906,390 out of the 2,339,233 registered voters in Osun State are eligible to participate in the election, representing 81.5 per cent of registered voters who collected their Permanent Voter Cards.
The commission added that 432,843 PVCs, representing 18.5 per cent, were not collected and had been deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria in line with its established procedure. It also disclosed that 6,101 people who applied for replacement of damaged, defaced or lost PVCs printed downloadable copies of their cards.
The 15 political parties participating in the election are Accord, Action Alliance, African Action Congress, African Democratic Congress, Action Democratic Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, All Progressives Congress, Allied Peoples Movement, Action Peoples Party, Boot Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party, Peoples Redemption Party, Social Democratic Party, Young Progressive Party and Zenith Labour Party.
President Bola Tinubu has meanwhile urged candidates, political parties, voters, security agencies and INEC to ensure that the election is conducted peacefully and credibly.
Tinubu, who spoke through the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, at the APC grand rally in Osogbo, urged voters to support the party’s candidate, Oyebamiji, whom he said would attract development to the state through stronger collaboration with the Federal Government.
The President also called on all stakeholders to shun violence, intimidation and harassment, assuring voters that adequate security measures had been put in place to protect them before, during and after the election.
The APC National Campaign Committee Chairman, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, also appealed to voters to come out en masse and exercise their franchise peacefully, while other APC leaders, including Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, canvassed support for Oyebamiji.
Oyebamiji, in his remarks, thanked the APC leadership and party stakeholders for their support, promising to run an inclusive government and promote even development across Osun State if elected.
Meanwhile, Governor Adeleke has raised concerns over alleged unauthorised electoral officials and the deployment of uncustomised ballot papers and result sheets in the state. The Imole Campaign Organisation called on security agencies and other stakeholders to investigate the allegations and ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
The police have also intensified security operations across Osun, particularly in Osogbo, with a warning that anyone found attempting to disrupt the election or breach public order would be arrested and prosecuted.
The election comes against the backdrop of heightened political tension in the state, with reports of violence during the campaign period. The police had also confirmed the killing of a nephew of the Director-General of the APC campaign organisation and member of the House of Representatives, Wole Oke, in Esa-Oke.
Former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, has also withdrawn his support for Adeleke and backed the APC candidate, citing what he described as concerns over the incumbent governor’s leadership style and distribution of development projects across the state.
With security agencies, political parties, election observers and INEC officials deployed across the state, attention is now focused on the conduct of the poll and the ability of the electoral umpire to deliver a peaceful and credible election that reflects the choice of the Osun electorate.