By Audrey Lotechukwu
TUE, 12 JULY, 2022-theGBJournal| The Osun State Governorship Election 2022 takes place on the 16th of July, 2022, and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are scrambling to ensure a free and fair election, while political parties and their candidate are in feverish campaign in bid to secure the big price, the State’s Government House.
INEC today held a stakeholders meeting ahead of the crucial election with the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Members of the Commission, Resident Commissioners (RECs), aides of the chairman and directors of the Commission present at the meeting.
‘’For us in INEC, let me reassure political parties, candidates and the electorate that the choice of who becomes the next Governor of Osun State is entirely in the hands of voters, as I have repeatedly said in previous engagements with stakeholders,’’ Yakubu said in his address at the meeting which also has in attendance the Ooni of Ife and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba.
He said the Commission has taken every step and made every arrangement for the successful conduct of the Governorship election this weekend.
‘’We have recruited, trained and carefully screened all categories of ad-hoc staff to be deployed to the field,’’ he said.
The National Commissioner Supervising Ogun, Ondo and Osun States, Prof. Kunle Ajayi as well as Prof. Abdulganiy Raji, Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun State were present and gave their views.
Prof. Ajayi reminded the stakeholders that ‘’vote-buying is against the law,’’ and insisted that anybody found engaging in such an act, ‘’would be made to face the full extent of the law.’’
He urged that all should work in unison to put an end to the act of vote-buying, in order to protect the sanctity of the country’s democracy.
Prof. Raji assured that all non-sensitive materials already batched to the polling unit level and ready to be conveyed to the RACs should arrive today and that production of maps of all polling units in the state both electronically and hardcopy for ease of movement and location polling units by the INEC staff are in place.
He added that poll officials are trained and ready for deployment, and security personal in the state has been trained.
According to the IGP, Usman Alkali Baba, 21,000 police personnel will be deployed for the election, in order to adequately protect both human and materials during and after the election.
‘’The Police will leave no stone unturned to ensure free fair credible election in Osun State,’’ he said.
The Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja 11 appealed to both electorate and political actors to follow the election guidelines and peaceful in their conduct during the election.
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