Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has applauded the residents of the state for turning out to vote at the local government election which was held yesterday.
The governor also rated the conduct of the election high, stating that it compared favourably with elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The governor stated this after casting his vote at Unit 1, Ward 011, Abayomi Open Space, Iwo Road, Ibadan North East LGA of the state.
However, the senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District, Sharafadeen Alli, has described the conduct of the local government election by the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) as a sham.
The senator, who voted in Ward 3 in Ibadan North LGA, expressed his disappointment, Alli stated, “What is happening here shows there is no preparedness in the conduct of the election.
“I will say OYSIEC is out for another game because this is almost 11 o’clock, officers supposed to conduct the election are not here. And this is happening in almost all voting centres in Oyo South Senatorial District.”
He also revealed that the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Eruwa had been attacked and was lying critically in the hospital.
However, addressing journalists after exercising his civic responsibility, Makinde said, “For us in Oyo State, democracy at the grassroots is what we practice.
This is almost our fifth year in office and we are holding local government elections for the second time.
“Before we came in, it had always been caretaker administration at the grassroots without the people having a say in who should governs them.
“You can see around also that the people are going about, performing the exercise peacefully and the traffic restriction is being obeyed by the people. So, I will commend our people for coming out to take democracy seriously at that level.”
The governor, who noted that the security report about the election had been excellent, said those who observed any untoward development should report the same to the security agencies.
