• PDP clears 30LGs, 332 wards • APC, APM dismiss exercise as charade • JDPMC, major observer, withdraws
From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
Osun State Local Government election was held on Saturday despite the advice of the Attorney General of the federation, Lateef Fagbemi, and the Nigeria Police Force to shelve the election.
Low turnout was observed in some polling units, while voting did not take place at all in some polling units visited by Sunday Sun.
Governor Ademola Adeleke voted at his polling unit in Sagba/Abounded Ward 2, Unit 9, Ede, in Saturday’s local government elections.
He commended the exercise which he described as peaceful and urged residents to troop out for the election.
Speaking with journalists after voting, Adeleke said: “The process has been very peaceful. I broadcasted that this election should be peaceful and that there should be no violence. The state is very peaceful and it should stay like that.
“I am charging my people to come out peacefully and vote and go back peacefully too. There should be no problem and should not give them chance to say there is violence anywhere. Like I say everything is going on well.”
Former governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola also voted at his hometown in Okuku, Odo-Otin local government of the state. One person was reportedly killed at Iyemogun along Wesley Guild Hospital in Ilesa East Local Government Area. The reason for the killing could not be ascertained.
The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Wale Egbedun, voted at Ward 9, Unit 5, in Asi, Odo Otin local government.
A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Bamidele Salam, voted at Ward 1 unit 1, Awo, Egbedore Local Government, while the Deputy Governor and the chairman governing council, Osun state university, Prof Wale Ladipo, voted at Ilode ward 1 unit 001, Ile-Ife.
Voting took place in ward 5 unit 12, Iwo local government; ward 4, unit 1, Iragbiji, Boripe local government.
Sunday Sun observed that major roads were deserted as residents stayed indoors. Policemen mounted barricades on major streets, checking vehicles, while shops and markets were firmly closed.
Some polling units visited in Osogbo, Irewole, Boluwaduro, were also deserted as no official of the independent electoral commission or police was present.
The OSSIEC chairman, Hashim Abioye, alleged that officials of the commission were arrested in some local governments. In a video released to the public, Abioye said the reports had been positive and that the conduct had been very smooth and peaceful, as against the false alarm raised by the Police.
“Everywhere is calm; the only thing is some of the areas where materials supposed to have arrived for voters to cast their vote. We have report of police arresting our officials. I don’t know on whose order the arrest of our officials.
“For the People in the media community, I want to apologize for the inadequacy in the tags and jacket, because we have enough. I can assure you, but the Police sealed off our office and that was unwarranted at all. All these we will sort out at the end of the day. Generally, the exercise has been very peaceful, free and fair and we thank God for that,” Abioye said.
The Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Teslim Igbalaye, also alleged that some electoral officials were arrested by policemen and detained at the police headquarters.
Meanwhile, the state Chairman of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Hon Adewale Adebayo, has described the election as a “mere lockdown.”
According to him, the election only took place at Ede, the hometown of Governor Ademola Adeleke, insisting that others were in lockdown.
Adebayo stated that the insistence of the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission(OSSIEC) to go on with the election despite warning by stakeholders and the court was to justify spending of the money that had been allocated for the poll, describing the action as fraud.
He said: “What we experience in Osun State today (Saturday) is not election but lockdown because people refuse to participate in the illegal poll except Ede town where only few members of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) voted in some polling units of top political appointees of the governor.
“Our party is vindicated with this exercise of our earlier apprehension that OSSIEC can never conduct any meaningful election since its chairman, Hashim Abioye is a card-carrying member of PDP and serves Adeleke as Special Adviser Legal matters and served as PDP caretaker Secretary.
“Osun State Government through OSSIEC only wasted billions of Naira on shadow election. Our members in Irewole, Isokan, Boripe, Ifelodun, Olorunda, Egbedore, Irepodun and Orolu amongst other places confirmed that elections were not held,” Adebayo said.
But, the Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, insisted that OSSIEC held a council election.
He said: “There was a massive turnout of voters. I voted in Osogbo Ward 7, Unit 7, the turnout was massive. I believe that people have confidence in OSSIEC and Osun State Government.”
Speaking on behalf of the state chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Tajudeen Lawal, a chieftain of the party, Jamiu Olawumi, described the exercise as a charade.
Olawumi said the state was sliding into the Stone Age when the world is in the computer age, adding that the Chairman of OSSIEC, being a PDP-card-carrying member cannot do better than what he did.
“What they did in Ife-Central local government was not an election. Some people were thumb-printing ballot papers for the electorate. Ditto for Egbedore where a school principal and a PDP member were carrying ballot boxes from one polling unit to another to stuff ballot papers into it. This is nothing but a charade and we are resolute in our decision in line with the Appeal Court judgment that there is no vacancy in the 30 local government council areas of the state,” Olawumi said.
The major observer in the Osun State Local Government election, Justice Development and Peace Makers Centre (JDPMC), yesterday, announced its withdrawal from the election amid the raging controversy. A statement by the General Coordinator, Rev Fr Peter Akinkunmi, hinged the decision on the advice of the police to shelve the election and the need to guarantee the safety of the people.
“JDPMC hereby withdraws all its observers from the various polling units with immediate effects and so announces its discontinuation of observing the February 22, 2025, Osun Local Government election.
“The organization regrets this unfortunate but inevitable development. It must be emphasized that this does not in any way imply that the organization agrees with any of the interpretations of the contested judgment of the appellate court.
“The decision is strictly based on the disagreement between the police and OSSIEC on the conduct of the election which for us cannot guarantee the atmosphere required for the conduct and observation of a credible election.
“The evident absence of the security agents in the polling units and the non-enforcement of curfew directed by the state government for the conduct of the election strongly reinforced our understanding of the statement of the Nigerian Police PRO given that we sought without success for the interpretation of the statement without success from the authorities of the Nigerian Police Force Osun State Command,” it stated.
Meanwhile, the APC has commended residents for boycotting election which it described as “illegal.” A statement by its Director of Media and Information of APC, Kola Olabisi, stated that the reaction of residents to the ‘charade’ promoted by the government was a testimony that the people of the state were law-abiding, democratic by standing with the rule of law.
Olabisi who disclosed that the reinstated chairmen would return to the council on Monday to continue their stay in office as duly recognised chairmen, promised that the people of the state would enjoy grassroots government.
The opposition APC stated that the resolve of the Osun citizens to stay away from the ‘sham’ election had further canonized them as true men and women of virtues who take premium in equity, fairness and justice as the foundation of democratic development.
“We are glad with the conduct of the citizens and residents of Osun the way and manner they deserted what we can best be described as ‘naming of imbeciles’ called election today. We monitored the exercise and we are so excited the way the people boycotted the process.
“Everything failed the unpleasantly partisan OSSIEC today. Elections did not take place in most parts of the state. In some pockets of places like Ede, the hometown of the governor, where the electoral commission had to save face, everything was shambolic. Apart from dubious arrangement where no material was distributed to any OSSIEC local government offices, the security also exposed them how ballots papers were pre-thumbprinted and stuffed before they even got to the selected polling units.
“As if that was not enough, there was also an absence of voters register at the few polling units where they staged an electoral drama, including the polling unit of the governor, where the number one citizen of the state voted without any accreditation.
“We sympathised with the people of the state for another loss of life reported in Irojo, Ilesa, and wastage of our collective resources on needless and cosmetic election that is inconsequential as it is legally settled that there is no vacancy in Osun Local Government Administration as expressly stated by the Appeal Court in Akure on February 10, 2025.
“We equally commended the security agents, particularly the Police and Department of State Services for standing firm on the side of the law and for taming the Peoples Democratic Party violence and brigandage.
“However, we demand for proper investigation of the unidentified young man that was allegedly shot dead in Irojo, Ilesa and those arrested with guns in Boripe Local Government Council Area among others.
“It is regrettable that despite the advice from security agencies that the election should be put on hold, the OSSIEC ignored the wise counsel, a development that led to security breach,” APC said.