Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) have jointly pleaded with the federal government not to stop the statutory allocation of funds to local governments in the state.
The appeal, which formed part of the communiqué issued and read yesterday in Osogbo by Osun IPAC chairman Victor Akande at the end of an interactive session between IPAC and OSSIEC, noted that the process towards a democratically elected leadership at the local government level is ongoing in the state.
“There is no need to withhold the allocation of funds to local governments in Osun State because the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) team has started the process of conducting the local government elections since January before the idea of going to the Supreme Court has even come to the mind of the federal government”.
Remember that the federal government is threatening to withhold fund allocations to local governments not governed by democratically elected leadership.
Osun IPAC, at the meeting attended by no fewer than sixteen political parties, including the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), passed a vote of confidence in the ability of OSSIEC to conduct a free, fair and credible elections in the state.
“All the political parties agreed that the OSIEC team has convinced us beyond reasonable doubt that they will be transparent and conduct a credible, free and fair election come February 2025”.
IPAC and the Osun State electoral body also resolved to ensure a peaceful campaign and ensure that the earlier timetable issued for the conduct of the election subsists without any shift in the date earlier fixed for the elections to ensure the rule of law.
They also resolved that each political party should promptly submit its campaign timetable and the list of its party agents to the electoral body, among other things.
