Those Responsible For Osun ‘Sham LG Poll’ Will Pay For It, PDP Vows

The Osun State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has said the administration of Senator Ademola Adeleke, which is expected to take over from Governor Gbiyeha Oyetola on November 27 will probe those responsible for allegedly wasting the state’s resources by conduction local government elections in the state.

The Osun State Independent Electoral Commission conducted elections into councils in the state today and the turnout was abysmally low as people stayed away from polling units.

Opposition political parties had earlier said they would not participate in the local government polls.

Commenting on the election on Saturday, the Acting Chairman of the PDP in Osun State, Dr Akindele Adekunle, claimed the council polls failed because people stayed away from it.

The party said citizens of the state shunned the process because it was a deliberate ploy by the state government to waste the state resources.

The opposition party also alleged that the insistence of the Osun Independent Electoral Commission to conduct the poll was a mockery of democracy.

Adekunle commended Osun people for “taking to its call to stay away from the ill-conceived council poll.”

Akindele said, “Going by the attitude of Osun people, who largely stayed away from the sham put up by the outgoing APC administration, it is not too late for Oyetola to apologise and ensure that every penny expended on the failed exercise is returned to the state’s coffers.”

“Right from the start, the process was flawed and our efforts to make Oyetola understand this was not appreciated. Polling units across Osun state are either empty or the presence of scanty APC members are what greeted anyone who visited them.

“Ballot papers purportedly used do not specify political parties neither does it designate the local government it was meant for. These explains the curiosity of Osun people and observers, who wondered whether it was an election or referendum that the Oyetola administration conducted.

“To make matter worse is how known members of the APC are stationed as officials of the OSSIEC, making mockery of the essence of democracy and bringing to focus the outgoing administration’s desperation to foist itself on the people.

“At the height of the sham is the random ticking of voter’s register without the physical presence of the person on the voter’s register, to the extent of ticking the names of the dead in many instances.

“The summary of what happened today (Saturday) was that Osun people do not accept the sham disguised as election, and as a party, we are proud of their courage and resoluteness in rejecting a dangerous precedent that posed grave danger to our state.

“We reiterate our warning that the PDP will do away with all the illegal officials that is produced from this exercise and want to make it clear that the incoming administration will ensure that everyone involved in this shameful act will not escape the wrath of the law just as every penny expended on it will be recovered.”