There was a disagreement between the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday over the proposed Local Government election in Osun State.
The crossfire was triggered by an announcement by the Chairman of Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) Segun Oladitan last week that the local government council election would be held on October 15.
The PDP on Tuesday told the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to make available the updated voters register to the OSSIEC for the purpose of the proposed local government poll.
In a letter credited to PDP legal adviser, Hashim Abioye, INEC was also advised to stay aloof from the proposed local government election.
Abioye noted that the insistence of the OSSIEC Chairman in going ahead with conducting the local government poll in the State despite various warnings from concerned citizens of Osun State was in contravention of the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
“The Provision of the Electoral Act, 2022 Section 28 thereof is that no election can hold until and unless a notice of such election is given “not later than 360 days” before the said election and in Section 29 of the same Act, list of candidates must be published “not later than 180 days”.
The APC in a reaction to the letter on Tuesday said the PDP lacks the power or authority to dictate to an independent body like the state electoral body which derives its creation and existence from the Electoral Act 2022.
The state chairman of APC in Osun State, Gboyega Famodun in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Kola Olabisi, told the state chapter of the PDP that the symbiotic relationship between the INEC and the OSSIEC is not a master and servant type but mainly advisory in status.
He stated that it is absurd and unheard of for a body of supposed learned men under the aegis of the PDP to dictate to the INEC to refuse the OSSIEC the lawful official privileges required to function effectively for its creation.
He said “If the statement credited to the Osun PDP that the INEC should deny the OSSIEC the updated voters register is anything to go by, it is suggestive of the fact that the PDP is sponsoring, oiling and encouraging an avoidable heating up of the polity in the state.
“Do we need to educate the PDP handlers that in a decent and real democratic society, the court is always there to adjudicate on any constitutional matter?”
Famodun concluded that PDP requesting INEC not to make update the voter’s register available for OSSIEC for local government elections is reckless, misleading, diversionary and unlawful and should be disregarded in its entirety. Continue Reading
