Osun State Independent Electoral commission, OSSIEC, has expressed readiness to conduct a free and fair council election on Saturday, February 22.
Underscoring this readiness, it hasu unveiled voting materials for the exercise.
Chairman of the commission, Mr Hassim Abioye said, “We are ready for the upcoming local government elections on February 22nd, 2025, and we are unveiling the electoral materials.”
He disclosed that all the political parties in the state have indicated interest to contest the poll.
As the time of the press conference, no political party has notified the commission of non participating adding that every necessary arrangement has been made.
He appealed to political leaders to ensure they prevail on their supporters on the need to give peace a chance adding that all relevant security agencies have been notified ahead of the exercise.
Speaking, the IPAC chairman in the state, Mr Victor Akande hinted that politics in Osun State has become a focal point of discussion among politicians and political analysts in recent time.
He said ” This is due to the judgment of the appeal court sitting in Akure on Monday 10th February, 2025 where the PDP case against OSSIEC was struck out by the appellant court due to lack of competence.
“As a result of this judgement, many controversial issues have arisen in the minds of the citizens of Osun State whether the election scheduled for February 22, 2025 will hold or not.
“As primary and critical stakeholders in Osun politics, it is imperative for us to make our position known about the coming election.
“As the umbrella body of all the registered political parties in Nigeria, we want to inform the public that we are going for the election.
“It should be noted that on the 8th of October, 2024, IPAC passed a vote of confidence on OSSIEC and its leadership. As of today we have not seen any reason to change our mind towards OSSIEC or the election. On daily basis, our conviction that OSSIEC will conduct a credible election is growing stronger.
“We therefore appeal to Osun citizens to troop out this coming Saturday to vote for the candidates of their choice. We advice every eligible voter to shun every form of electoral corruption and violence as the security officials will not condone anything that will unsettle the peace of Osun State.
“We implore everyone to ignore those who are bent to satisfy their personal interest at the detriment of Osun populace in general. We maintain that the progress of Osun State is important than the interest of any individual.”
All the political leaders were represented at the event except PDP and APC.
Some of the leaders of various political parties who spoke separately said they were impressed with the level of preparedness of OSSIEC.
They urged the commission to mobilize effective security to protect the lives of voters who will troop out to exercise their franchise.
