By Adeyinka Adeniran
Oyo State government has assured the residents that it will break the jinx of lack of integrity in the conduct of local government elections in the forthcoming April 27 polls.
The commissioner for information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, made the disclosure while explaining the readiness of government for the election exercise.
He said the fact that about 19 political parties including the All Progressives Congress, APC, will participate in the election is a testimony that the state government and the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission, OYSIEC, are trusted to midwife the election.
Prince Oyelade said the governor has cooperated fully with OYSIEC to provide a level playing ground without interference from any quarters.
The Commissioner said it is on record that Oyo is the only state in the Federation that requested for Bimodal Voters Accreditation System, BVAS, from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the conduct of the local government election.
According to the Commissioner, to prove further that OYSIEC is independent, last year April the Commission unilaterally announced the April 27, 2024 date for the conduct of the election without informing the State governor who nevertheless commended OYSIEC’s proactiveness.
According to the OYSIEC Chairman, Aare Isiaka Olagunju SAN, although, INEC did not grant OYSIEC’s request on BVAS, measures have been put in place to ensure the transparency and accountability of the election.
He said since the announcement of the local government election about a year ago, OYSIEC has been in constant engagement with all registered political parties and stakeholders in the state to ensure a smooth exercise while encouraging them to desist from any form of intimidation or harassment.
He disclosed that sensitive materials are ready and the appointment of ad-hoc staffs have been carried out.
Expressing the readiness of the APC to participate in the election, the party’s publicity secretary, Mr. Olawale Sadare, stated that the party has decided to have a low-key campaign strategy in solidarity with members of the public considering the economic realities in the country.
Stating that the party’s candidates across the 33 local government areas and 351 political wards have continued to engage voters on a house to house, community to community grassroots campaign, the APC Publicity Secretary, said the local government election would have been more credible if BVAS was approved by INEC for the election.
On his part, the State Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and PDP Director-General, for the forthcoming local government election, Alh. Wasiu Adeleke, said despite the good works of Governor Seyi Makinde which have given the party the wings to thrive on, the PDP, is not resting on its oars.
He said the party will not take any chances and so far across the State, only PDP have continued to engage in public campaigns across all the 33 local government in the state.
