Election Peaceful, My Husband Will Win Again, Says Adeleke’s Wife

The wife of the Osun State governor, Mrs Ngozi Adeleke, has expressed confidence that her husband, Gov Ademola Adeleke, will emerge victorious at the end of Saturday’s governorship election in the state.

Ngozi, who spoke after she and her husband voted yesterday at Sagba Abogunde Ward 2, Unit 9, Ede, said she was happy that reports indicated that the exercise was proceeding peacefully.

She urged eligible voters across the state to come out and exercise their franchise to ensure Adeleke emerged as the winner.

She described the voting process at Sagba Abogunde Ward 2, Unit 9, as peaceful, saying there was no rancour, fighting or intimidation.

The governor’s wife urged residents who had yet to vote to proceed to their respective polling units and participate in the electoral process.

According to her, voting is a civic responsibility, and I am impressed that the exercise has been peaceful so far.

She expressed confidence in her husband’s ability to emerge victorious at the end of the exercise, given his performance.

Ngozi urged voters to come out en masse and vote for Accord without fear or intimidation.
The governorship election is being conducted across the 30 local government areas of Osun.

Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party, had earlier cast his vote at Ward 02, Polling Unit 009, Abogunde Compound, Ede North local government area.

Voters were seen at various polling units across Ede and other adjoining communities exercising their franchise.

Adeleke Alleges Plot To Move Vote Counting Straight To Collation Centre

Meanwhile, Governor Adeleke yesterday alleged plots by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to move the results straight to the collation centre instead of moving them from the polling units to the wards and then to the local governments.

The governor, who arrived at his polling unit in Ede North local government area at about 8:29am, ahead of the commencement of voting in the Osun State governorship election, said “I want to raise alarm over the presence of one Police officer, from Port Harcourt, simply identified as London to disrupt voting in Ede.”

Adeleke arrived at Unit 9, Ward 2, a minute before the scheduled 8:30am commencement of voting, as voters and INEC ad-hoc staff were already on the ground.

The governor subsequently cast his ballot at 8:32am, marking his participation in the election as voting commenced at the polling unit.

His arrival and voting came as the governorship election got underway across the state, with voters turning out at polling units to participate in the exercise.

In his assessment of the exercise after casting his vote, Governor Adeleke said “As of now, it is going well.

“However, I have received some information from my people in Osun State that there is a police officer called London from Port Harcourt who was brought to the state to destroy my town, Ede and disrupt the voting process.

“I am calling on the IGP and all security agencies to watch out for this police officer from Port Harcourt.

“I understand that the APC brought him to Osun State to carry out a hatchet job and cause disruption in my town, Ede, so that people will not be able to vote.

“I want the IGP, the Police Commissioner for the election, the DIG for the election, and all security agencies to take note and do the needful. I also urge all my people in Ede to be vigilant.

“I also have it on good authority that they do not want to follow the normal process of moving from the polling units to the wards and then to the local governments. Instead, they want to take the process straight to the collation centre.

“This is not acceptable. They must follow the rules, and that is why I am alerting my people to watch out.”

Oyebamiji Commends Peaceful Voting, Urges Voters To Remain Calm

The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Osun State, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, yesterday commended the peaceful conduct of voters and election officials.

Oyebamiji, who spoke shortly after voting at Ward 9, Irewole local government at exactly 10:42am, said the electoral process at his polling unit was proceeding peacefully, with voters, election officials and security personnel present.

He said, “I have just voted and I can see that people came out here. Every process is going peacefully. The INEC officials are here, the voters are here, the police are here and the security operatives are here.

“So far, my assessment is that everything is going peacefully here, especially at this unit.”

The APC candidate also said reports reaching him from other polling units indicated that the election was generally peaceful, while security operatives had intervened in areas where there were attempts to cause disturbances.

“From the information we have received so far, everything is going on well. The election is going peacefully. INEC is doing its job, and at the same time, the security people are attending to one or two places where some people want to cause trouble. The police are in charge,” he said.

Oyebamiji urged voters and other stakeholders to conduct themselves peacefully throughout the exercise, particularly amid concerns over possible violence later in the day.

Oyebamiji’s Wife Hails Voting Process, Predicts Victory

The wife of the APC governorship candidate, Dr Sekinah Oyebamiji, also commended the conduct of the governorship election, describing the voters’ turnout as impressive and expressing confidence in her husband’s victory.

Oyebamiji spoke shortly after casting her ballot at Polling Unit 003, Ward 9, AUD Primary School, Atile, in Irewole local government area of the state.

She said the electoral process had so far been peaceful and orderly, while commending officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for what she described as professional conduct.

“The voters’ turnout is quite impressive. The INEC officials are conducting themselves professionally. There are police officers around.

“I think the process is good so far. The expectation is that Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji will carry the day.”

Recall that Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji had earlier urged security agencies to remain proactive in preventing violence and ensuring that voters are allowed to exercise their franchise without intimidation.

He also commended the turnout of voters after casting his ballot at Ward 9, Polling Unit 011, Open Space Gantry, Ikire.

Sekinah Oyebamiji has also been actively involved in the APC campaign, particularly in mobilising women and educating voters ahead of the election.

She recently joined other party women leaders in market-to-market engagements across Osogbo to encourage voter participation and support for the APC candidate.

Alleged assassination attempt on ADC candidate

Meanwhile, it was alleged that assassination attempt was made against the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in the Osun State governorship election, Hon. Najeem Salaam at his polling unit in Ward 4, Unit 13, Ejigbo local government area.

At the scene, an individual identified as “Big Hammer” allegedly led the attack on the candidate.

One of the suspected assailants was reportedly arrested following the incident.

The circumstances surrounding the alleged attack and the identity of those arrested could not be independently confirmed at the time of filing this report.

Following the reported incident, the attackers were alleged to have disrupted voting at the polling unit, chased voters away and interfered with election materials.

The development has raised fresh concerns over the safety of voters, candidates and electoral officials as voting continues across Osun

APC Deputy Gov Candidate Hails Massive Turnout

‎On his part, the APC deputy governorship candidate, Kayode Adereti, commended voters for the massive turnout recorded across the state.

‎Adereti spoke shortly after casting his vote at Ward 11, Unit 3, Ilare, in Ife Central local government area of the state.

‎He described the turnout as impressive, saying the large number of voters at polling units demonstrated the willingness of residents to participate in the electoral process and exercise their civic responsibility.

‎The APC deputy governorship candidate also commended the security arrangements at the polling unit, describing the electoral process as peaceful.

‎He expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), saying the accreditation process was progressing smoothly.