Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) has fixed 22nd February, 2025 for elections into the 30 Local Government Council Areas, the Area Council, the 32 Local Council Development Authorities and the six Area Council Development Authorities of the state.
The chairman of OSSIEC, Barrister Hashim Akintunde Abioye, who disclosed this at a press conference in Osogbo yesterday, said that the commission painstakingly studied relevant electoral legislations and judicial precedents and consulted legal professionals, technocrats and key stakeholders before the decision was taken.
He said there was no legal hurdle whatsoever inhibiting, restraining, prohibiting or clogging the wheel of the Commission from commencing the process of the local government elections in the state adding that the time table to that effect will be released soon.
As part of the preparations for the successful conduct of the elections, the chairman said the commission recently had an interface with the Osun State chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and the leadership of the registered political parties with over eighty percent of the parties in attendance.
He said the commission struck a deal with IPAC for collaborative engagements, free flow of information, peace, mutual understanding and cooperation though the jurisdictional sphere of IPAC does not extend to dishing out instructions or directives to the Commission.
“We are guided by the overriding provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the applicable provisions of the 2022 OSSIEC Law in drawing the time-table and schedule of activities. The regulations and guidelines in line with global best practices for the elections will also be unveiled soon.
Abioye assured that the elections will be a “giant leap forward” in the history of local government elections in Osun State unlike the one conducted by the Commission in 2022 under the watch of his predecessor despite the red signal and the clear warnings against the conduct.
