The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Oyo State has declared that the April 27 local government election in the state was free, fair, credible and successful.
IPAC said that the election was the best in the history of the state in terms of preparations, efforts, engagement and personnel deployed by the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC).
In a statement by its chairman, Otunba Adegbenro Fagbemi, IPAC stated that the election in the state was a huge success and rivaled an election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, adding that the election did not witness any form of violence and was a validation of the people’s will for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to continue in governance.
Furthermore, Otunba Fagbemi said the OYSIEC under the leadership of Aare Isiaka Olagunju (SAN) exemplified transparency and followed due process as it began the preparation for the election a year ago and carried along all parties in the election process.
According to him, the fact that opposition parties participated in the election showed their belief in the integrity and fairness of the Olagunju led OYSIEC, the fact that the election did not hold in a few units could not invalidate the election held in over 6,000 polling units across the state.
Otunba Fagbemi who argued that no election was perfect in the world, said the April 27 election was a work in progress and was the best among elections conducted in the state.
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Also speaking, IPAC’s public relations officer, Engr Gbeminiyi Ayodele said: “I am proud to tell you that except the election conducted by INEC in 1999, Aare Olagunju, the OYSIEC chairman conducted 2024 elections can be referred to as one of the best.
“This election was prepared for like an election that INEC planned for. The electoral law of the nation stipulated that the planning for the election should start a year before the election. Election preparation started 28th April, 2023.
“In most of the states, hardly would you see a major opposition party participate in a local government election. The reason why they don’t participate is that they believe that it will be as usual, it will be an election that would not be conducted.
“But this election was conducted under a free and fair atmosphere. The preparation started a year ago and that was why you see APC participating.
“Every election will always have the positive and the negative. But I am glad to tell you that the plus in this election is more than the minus. This is the first local government election in Oyo State where election materials were sighted by all political parties, monitored and dispatched to LGA’S and wards by IPAC organized monitoring agents which are representatives from all parties that participated. From the Report gathered no LGA or ward that the materials did not get to.
“It’s on record that there was late arrival of voting materials to some polling units across the state which was as a result of scarcity of fuel and vehicles to convey OYSIEC staff and materials, Fuel Scarcity was a national problem which we have little or nothing to do. Upon receiving the report the OYSIEC Chairman order that elections should continue in those areas until the last people on the Que at the affected polling unit cast their vote.
“Upon the close of vote on the election date, results were announced at each polling unit, units that election did not hold the vote was not collated, likewise polling unit that there where form of Violence.
“The collation went smoothly and announcements were made, the council humbly urge all parties who have one grievance to approach the tribunal within the stipulate time and stop doing media trials on a concluded process,” he emphasised.
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