Come this Saturday, May 22, the electorate in Oyo state will file out to elect new chairmen and councillors into the 33 constitutionally recognised local government areas in the state. The elections are to be conducted by the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission ( OYSIEC ) under the chairmanship of Aare Isiaka Abiola Olagunju (SAN), BAYO AGBOOLA in Ibadan reports
It has been tug of verbal wars between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the main opposition party in the state, All Progressives Congress (APC), on whether to keep to the May 22 date for the conduct of the local government election or not.
But, as for OYSIEC, with 17 registered political parties fielding candidates to contest the election, the commission is good to go baring any unforeseen circumstances.
Towards this, OYSIEC last Saturday, in a statement, signed by the Electoral Commissioner in charge of Voter Education, Prince Afeez Adeniyi, announced its decision to refund nomination fees paid by candidates in the May, 22 local government elections, in compliance with sections 7(4), 106 and 107 of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)”.
OYSIEC stressed that it is to refund N50,000 each of the councillorship candidates and N250,000 to each of the chairmanship candidates as stated on timetable and guidelines released for local government council elections.
The state electoral body also urged all political parties participating in the elections to submit the names of their party agents in the polling units, ward, collation centres and local government collation centres to OYSIEC offices in the 33 local government councils of Oyo state on or before the close of work on Tuesday, 19th May, 2021 for further necessary actions on part of the commission.
OYSIEC minced no words in insisting that elections will take place in the 33 constitutionally recognized local government in the state from 8am to 3pm come this Saturday, May 22.
“There shall be restrictions on human and vehicular movements throughout the time of the election. All eligible voters to turn out en masse in the date of election”, assuring that “their votes will count as the May 22, 2021 announced by the commission as election date remains intact.”
On its part, the main opposition political party in the state, APC led by state caretaker chairman, Chief Akin Oke, few days after its victory at the Supreme court, on the prolonged legal tussle on the local government administration in the state, called OYSIEC to postpone the May 22 council polls in the state to enable the party prepare for participation in the process of the election.
Chief Oke said, “We could not be part of the preparation for that election at the initial stage because we felt the dissolution of democratically elected chairmen and councillors was illegal.
“Now that we have been vindicated, it is thus right for the government to give a level playing field in order for us to test our popularity. We are not afraid of the local government election, it is high time the OYSIEC postpone the election to accommodate us.”
A former governor of the state and chairman of APC Elders Advisory Council in Oyo state, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, cautioned Governor Seyi Makinde-led administration against going ahead with the May 22 local government election so as not to throw the Oyo state into another round of what he called ‘legal gymnastics’.
“It is trite in law for Governor Makinde to see that there is the need to postpone the election. Going on with the local government election as earlier scheduled will throw the state into another round of legal gymnastics.
“My advise to him is to sit down with the OYSIEC officials, look in to the new development and do the needful which is to shift the election date. Fortunately, the Oyo state Independent Electoral Commission Chairman is a learned fellow.
“He knows what the law says as regards disenfranchisement, he knows what the Constitution says about holding elections and he knows the consequences of holding a one sided election.”
Otunba Alao- Akala stressed, “Apart from that, both the Gov Seyi Makinde and the OYSIEC chairman have a name to protect now and in future of the development of our democracy in Nigeria.
“This is an opportunity for Engr. Seyi Makinde to correct his past mistakes. He should not commit another blunder by going on with that election which i am hundred percent certain will be faulted again by the constitution, the electoral act and the judiciary” .
Amidst the contentions by the APC and its leadership, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Oyo state chapter declared its readiness and commitment towards peaceful conduct of Saturday, May 22 local government election in the state.
ADC tasked OYSIEC to beware of detractors and undemocratic entities, and remain focused in their efforts to conduct free, fair and credible elections on 22nd May 2021.
Its statement signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Barrister Bimpe Adelowo, said, “African Democratic Congress (ADC) Oyo state chapter wishes to inform our teeming members and the general public of our readiness and commitment towards peaceful conduct of the Oyo state local council elections scheduled to hold on the 22nd May, 2021 as follows;
“You will recall that our party issued press statement sometimes ago to announce our readiness to participate in the elections into the various Local council Area of Oyo state after OYSIEC had visited our party’s office during the commission’s familiarization and confidence building tour and after OYSIEC had equally released the election guidelines.”
ADC added, “we are pleased to inform you that when the political space was opened for election’s activities our party ADC, equally set process in motion in full compliance with the election guidelines as issued by OYSIEC, whereby we called for expression of interest from our interested members, followed by the conduct of party primaries to elect candidates to be sponsored for various local council elective positions.
“Also in our readiness for the elections, our sponsored candidates equally participated in the screening exercise as conducted by OYSIEC.
“Our party ADC has no pretense all this while in our commitment towards successful conduct of the said elections and in our readiness to contest in the said elections. You were, however, aware that in the past week, certain politicians and political parties in the state tried to negatively explore the Supreme Court judgement as related to the erstwhile local government chairmen and councillors, to call for the postponement of the forthcoming local council elections.
“We wish to say here that such call is undemocratic and bereft of patriotic view, in that nothing in the much touted Supreme Court judgment which has any correlation with conduct of the forthcoming local council elections.
We, therefore, call on the OYSIEC to be wary of detractors and undemocratic entities and remain focused in their efforts to conduct free, fair and credible elections on 22nd May 2021.
“In conclusion, we want to caution OYSEIC that any attempt to yield to such calls for the postponement of elections may not be in the interest of general public and consequently throws the state into long crisis we do not prayer for; OYSSIEC should concern themselves on how to deliver on its mandate and how to deliver a successful, fair, free and credible”.
Signifying its readiness to participate and field candidates in the Saturday polls, the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN), however, said the party is not ready to contest the May 22 local government election with the offer of provisional registration by OYSIEC.
SPN in a letter by its Oyo state secretary, Comrade Ayodeji Adigun to OYSIEC chairman, stated that the party will be turning down the provisional registration offer to guide against what it referred to as future constitutional crisis.
The letter read, “We write to officially notify the Commission through your esteemed office of our decision not to accept the offer of provisional registration with the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) as a basis for our party’s participation in the forthcoming local government elections.
“After a deeper consideration of this offer and wider consultation over its possible implications, we came to a realisation that the particular section of the OYSIEC electoral law that the commission hopes to rely upon to offer our party the so-called provisional registration in order to participate in the forthcoming local government election, is inconsistent with the provision of Section 222(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended), that empowers only INEC as the body to register political parties for the purpose of participating in any election.
“Flowing from this background, we strongly believe that the outcome of our participation can easily be challenged and invalidated in any court of competent jurisdiction on a ground that the basis of our participation in the election is inconsistent with the Constitution, hence illegal and unlawful.
“Therefore, we would demand that our party is allowed to participate in the upcoming Oyo state local government election on the basis of a favorable Court of Appeal judgment that nullified its undemocratic deregistration by the INEC in CA/ABJ/CV/507/2020 ACD & 21 ORS v. AG. FED & INEC (please find a Certified True Copy attached) with an order of immediate re-enlistment on the ground that INEC failed to follow a due process in implementing Section 225 (a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) which it relied upon to carry out the de-registration. The judgement of the Court of Appeal is still valid and subsisting and has to be obeyed except the Supreme Court upturns it.
“We do not need to state that the INEC needs to file a valid appeal at the Supreme Court of Nigeria to set aside the judgement. Even where INEC files the said appeal, it is not the same as stay of execution against the valid and subsisting Court of Appeal judgement.
“Until the Supreme Court decides otherwise, the SPN remains a registered political party with a legal right to participate in the local government election without the involvement of any auxiliary means. Thanks as we anticipate your objective consideration of our reiterated position.”
With the situation on ground, it is glaring that OYSIEC is not prepared to shift ground on date slated for local government election across Oyo state.
More so, with the state police command and other security agencies in the state expressing their readiness to ensure adequate security during and after the election and the continuous assurances, OYSIEC is determined to conduct free, fair, credible and acceptable election come this Saturday.
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