Oyo State Government has assured that it will break the jinx of lack of integrity in the conduct of local government elections during the approaching April 27 polls.
The state’s Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, while beaming light into the readiness of government for the election, said the fact that about 19 political parties including the All Progressives Congress (APC) would participate in the election is a testimony that the state government and the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission, OYSIEC, were trusted to midwife the election.
Oyelade said the Governor had co-operated fully with OYSIEC to provide a level-playing ground without interference from any quarter.
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.
To further prove the independence of OYSIEC, the Commissioner referred to last year April when the Commission unilaterally announced the April 27, 2024 date for the conduct of the election without informing the governor who nevertheless commended OYSIEC’s proactiveness.
According to the OYSIEC chairman, Isiaka Olagunju, 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 had 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.
Olagunju disclosed that sensitive materials were ready and the appointment of ad-hoc staffs have been carried out.
Expressing the readiness of the main opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, to participate in the election, the party’s State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olawale Sadare, stated that the party had 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 image maker 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 Peoples 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, was 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.
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