The Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC), on Tuesday, engaged with the leadership of political parties in the state as part of its preparation for the 2024 Local Government Council Elections in the state.
The OYSIEC Chairman, Aare Isiaka Abiola Olagunju, SAN, while speaking at the meeting attended by the representatives of registered political parties at the Conference Hall of the Commission’s Headquarters, Ibadan, sought the support of the parties and other relevant stakeholders to achieve credible elections.
Olagunju, who reiterated the commitment of the commission to conducting free, fair and credible local government elections, admonished the political parties to play according to the rule in the interest of the state.
He said: “The Commission can only achieve success with your support and cooperation, the government in all fairness is ready to conduct the election.
“We did our best during the last local government council elections, what is important is to have a common goal of serving the people, we are all human beings, we should be united and endeavor to do the right thing at all times.
Speaking further, he said: “Kindly appeal to your people to have trust in the Commission, if you have a credible candidate, definitely, that person will win, on our part at the commission, we won’t compromise.”
He maintained that serving the people accordingly should be a common goal, which he said all political parties should strive to attain.
Olagunju noted that the commission will continually engage the political parties and other relevant stakeholders for a successful poll.
The Chairman, Inter Party Advisory Council, Oyo State, (IPAC), Apostle Dare Ojo, while speaking, harped on the need for proper planning and better orientation of key players in the election process, saying that this would go a long way in achieving a peaceful election.
He called on the political parties not to see the elections as a do-or-die affair but develop the spirit of sportsmanship while going into the polls.
The State’s ADP Chairman advised the leadership of OYSIEC to synergize with relevant stakeholders and intensify efforts in educating the populace on the need to embrace local government elections to record massive turnout on election day.
He said further: “The meeting was encouraging and most of the political parties were on ground. We brainstormed on how the last Local Government Election went, how to prepare for the next one.
“All political parties would participate, including the APC, as long as we have a common goal. My submission is that political leaders should have the spirit of sportsmanship, and we take that spirit to the election day. We should be able to see it as a football competition when two people are playing, one has to win, one has to lose.
“For OYSIEC, all election materials should be on deck on election day, adequate publicity on recruitment of ad-hoc staff and training are essential”.
