In anticipation of the upcoming council election across the 20 local governments in Ogun state, Hon Adewale Saheed Bankole, the former chairmanship candidate of ZLP in Abeokuta North local government has urged the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) to act as an impartial entity and ensure a transparent and equitable poll in the state.
Hon. Bankole Saheed Adewale
The call was made during an interactive session with the media in Abeokuta on Thursday.
Bankole, reflecting on his experiences during his bid as the ZLP chairmanship candidate in 2021, characterized OGSIEC as “a drum in the hand of drummers.”
Premier World News reports that OGSIEC has announced administrative charges for the upcoming local government elections, with fees ranging from N100,000 to N250,000 for candidates. The commission has also released guidelines for the November 16 elections and still recruiting ad-hoc staff.
He elaborated on the challenges faced, particularly the biased conduct of OGSIEC during the election process.
He stated that, “I can attest from my own experience that elections can only be deemed free and fair when the electoral body operates independently and impartially’’.
‘’Unfortunately, OGSIEC appears to function as a mere instrument in the hands of those in control, making it arduous for the commission to facilitate impartial council elections.”
“Throughout my election, the incumbent governor and his network utilized OGSIEC to manipulate election outcomes in favor of APC candidates. Regrettably, when these actions were contested, no remedial measures were taken.”
This constituted a blatant and egregious subversion of the democratic process, and I sincerely hope that such occurrences will not recur during the upcoming elections‘’, Bankole stated.
He encouraged voters to maintain faith in their chosen candidates rather than in the electoral body, emphasizing that his confidence in OGSIEC’s capacity to conduct a fair election is uncertain.
He also urged all candidates from different political affiliations to promote peace and refrain from engaging in provocative campaigns that could incite unrest among their supporters and the electorate.
Premier World News further gathered that an Ogun State High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the state capital, has nullified the imposition of administrative charges on political candidates by the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) for the forthcoming local government election in the State.
The presiding Judge, Justice Tajudeen Okunsokan, in a judgment delivered on Tuesday described the imposition of the administrative charges as unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
Prior to the high court ruling, OGSIEC has earlier imposed the payment of administrative fees in the sum of N250,000 on each Male Chairmanship candidate, N150,000 on each Councillorship candidate and N100,000 on each Female Chairmanship or Councillorship candidate contesting in the Ogun State Local Government Council Elections slated for 16th November 2024.
No fewer than 16 political parties, including Peoples Democratic Party of Nigeria (PDP), Labour Party (LP), African Democratic Congress, (ADC) among others, had in suit number AB/577/2024 challenged the imposition of administrative charges and the time table released by OGSIEC.
The Judge also set aside the imposition of the fees as a condition for participating in the election on any candidate.
