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Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State on Saturday conducted local government elections in the state amid very low voter turnout, despite the warnings by the Attorney General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), and the Inspector General of Police (IG), Kayode Egbetokun.
This is just as Adeleke commended President Bola Tinubu for supporting the rule of law and allowing the elections, which were boycotted by the All Progressives Congress (APC), to hold.
The Chairman of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC), Hashim Abioye, has claimed that operatives of the Nigeria Police Force sealed the headquarters of the commission and arrested staff who were on election duty across the state.
Abioye, who made the claim in a statement issued via the commission’s official X page explained that the development led to the commission’s inability to provide accreditation materials for journalists.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has clinched all the 30 chairmanship and 332 councillorship seats in the state.
The state has been engulfed in a political crisis between the ruling PDP and the opposition APC over the local government seats in the state.
The crisis escalated on Monday, leading to the killing of six persons, including an APC chieftain.
The state government had blamed the crisis on the APC and former governor Gboyega Oyetola, now Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.
Adeleke had vowed that nothing would stop Saturday’s election from holding and urged the people to turn out en masse.
Fagbemi had on Thursday called on Adeleke, to direct the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSIEC) to call off Saturday’s local government election in the state.
The AGF, in a statement he signed in Abuja, had warned that conducting a new local government council elections would not only be invalid but would also amount to a breach of the Constitution since the tenure of the purportedly sacked council chairmen was still running according to a recent decision of the Court of Appeal, Akure Division.
A civil society group, Osun Democrats for Democracy, had countered the AGF’s warning, saying that he had no legal authority to halt the elections or interpret court rulings.
ODD’s Legal Adviser, Adewale Fowora, in a statement accused Fagbemi of bias, citing his past role as a legal representative of former governor Gboyega Oyetola.
Citing another court judgment, which nullified the election of the sacked chairmen and which was not a subject of the Akure Court of Appeal judgment, the group insisted that “The AGF is not a court of law and cannot stop an election nor interpret court rulings. Only a court of law can decide such matters.”
Despite the controversy, the election commenced in some local governments as early as 8 am, including Ede North LGA where Governor Adeleke voted.
Governor Adeleke cast his vote at Unit 9, Sagba Abogunde Ward 2, Ede North LGA at about 7:56 a.m.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the governor arrived at the polling unit in the company of his supporters and some members of the PDP.
He commended OSSIEC for the peaceful process in the conduct of the elections.
Adeleke advised residents to go out and cast their vote without any fear of intimidation, urging political stakeholders and the electorate to shun violence during and after the elections.
He expressed confidence that all PDP candidates would emerge victorious in the elections.
“I want to urge everyone to come out and cast their votes. The election will be peaceful”, the governor assured.
Adeleke also commended President Bola Tinubu for supporting the rule of law in the conduct of the local government elections in the state.
The governor, however, denied making any negative comments against the president.
“I did not at any point utter any negative remarks about Mr President.
“All the news articles suggesting that I made negative remarks against the president are fake.
“I have been very supportive and collaborative with the federal government.
“In my two broadcasts, I did not in any way attack the president.
“I urge the public and stakeholders to ignore the fake news, as I did not attack President Tinubu in any way before and during the ongoing local government election,” he added.
PDP Sweeps 30 Chairmanship, 332 Councillorship Seats
Meanwhile, the Chairman of OSSIEC, Mr Hashim Abioye on Saturday night announced that PDP candidates cleared all the 30 local government chairmanship and 332 councillorship seats across the state.
According to him, “To this effect, by the power conferred on me as the chief returning officer of OSSIEC, I hereby declare them as duly elected chairman of their respective LGA.”
The OSSIEC chairman noted that the LGA election has been successfully concluded in compliance with constitutional provisions, extant laws, regulations and guidelines.
He said: “From the available result as obtained from the field, the candidates of the PDP in 332 wards emerged as winners, and I as the chief returning officer of the commission hereby return every one of them as duly elected councillors of their wards.”
“The election was conducted to fill the existing vacancies in 332 wards in the state and 30 LGAs of the state.”
He affirmed that the elections were contested by 18 political parties and the result has been submitted to the commission.
Police Seal OSSIEC Headquarters, Arrest Staff
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the OSSIEC, Abioye, has claimed that operatives of the Nigeria Police Force arrested staff of the commission who were on election duty across the state.
Abioye maintained that the arrest of the officials conveying the materials was responsible for the late arrival of materials, adding that new materials have been deployed and voting was ongoing.
He said: “Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested staff of the commission who are on election duty across the state.”
Election was Boycotted, Say APC, APM
However, the APC and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) have stated that no election took place in the state.
The state chapter of the APC on Saturday night commended the people of the state for boycotting the illegal local government council elections conducted by the “partisan” OSSIEC.
The party expressed excitement with the massive boycott of the elections across the 30 local government areas and Modakeke Area Office, stating the reaction of the residents to the charade promoted by the government is a testimony that the people of the state are law-abiding, democratic and decent for standing with the rule of law.
Similarly, the Osun State Chairman of the APC, Adewale Adebayo, berated the OSSIEC, claiming that there was no election anywhere in the state except in Ede, the hometown of Governor Adeleke.
He said that OSIEC’s insistence on conducting the poll was to justify allocated money, describing the action as fraud.
Adebayo said his members in various towns confirmed that elections were not held in their areas.
Yinka Kolawole
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