As the outcome of the Saturday governorship election in Osun State continued to generate mixed reactions, a gubernatorial aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Oyo State, Dr. Olusola Ayandele, has urged concerned parties and stakeholders to embrace peace and support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in its bid to deliver free, fair and credible electoral process that would be acceptable to all.
INEC, through its chief returning officer the election, Professor Joseph Fuwape, declared the Saturday poll which took place in all the 30 local government areas of Osun Stae as inconclusive and ordered a rerun in some polling units of named local government council areas where poll results were cancelled. This became imperative following the discovery that the total number of cancelled votes was greater than the difference of 353 votes between the PDP and APC candidates in the final analysis of results declared.
Ayandele, in a statement issued and made available to journalists in Ibadan by the directors general of his campaign organization, Hon. Ademola Ojo, regretted that the determination of the winner of the keenly contested election, which attracted global attention, would have to wait till September 27, 2018 after the rerun poll.
“The stalemate in the Osun poll is an attestation to the neutrality of INEC and the fact that most participants played the game according to the rule. Before Saturday, some political pundits did not believe that the APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari would give the electoral umpire the free hand to conduct the poll but in the end, the whole world has been made to see that the Buhari administration means well for the country.
“As Nigeria seeks to grow its democracy amidst divergent interest of the citizens, it is important for all and sundry to keep faith with the current administration as it has demonstrated the will to deliver on its promise of promoting participatory democracy and the rule of law as against the ugly experience of the past when elections were flawed in favor of the ruling party.
“The Thursday rerun, as announced by INEC, would afford voters to consolidate their resolve to ensure continuity of transparent, accountable and purposeful governance in the face of daunting economic and social challenges since 2010 when Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola became the governor.
“Lastly, concerned voters in the affected polling units have a date with history on Thursday as they hold the destiny of Osun State in their hands. A victory for the APC, in the end, would signal the readiness of the people of the South Western part of the country to facilitate regional integration as well as regional cohesion in the face of manifesting challenges from other geopolitical zones.” Ayandele stated.
