LG Polls: OYSIEC Shifts Election Date

The Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) has postponed the local government election in the state. As revealed by CoreNews, the election which had been scheduled for May 15 has been postponed for a week and will now hold on May 22.

The OYSIEC Chairman, Mr Isiaka Olagunju announced the postponement at the statewide voter education and mobilisation campaign towards the local government election organized by the National Orientation Agency (NOA), in Ibadan today.

According to Mr. Olagunju, the postponement became necessary because of the realization that one of the Ed-el-Fitr holidays fell on the May 15th date slated for the elections. He also promised that the OYSIEC would be impartial and further said that the success of the election would hinge on voter turnout on Election Day.

The chairman took the time to list the four other documents voters can identify themselves with apart from their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC). The documents are: Temporary Voters slip, National Identity Card, International Passport and Drivers License.

He stated that it was imperative for the name on the voters identification document(s) to match the name in the Voters’ register that will be displayed in all 33 LGAs in the state next week. He also sounded a note of warning to the relevant security agencies, asking them to arrest anyone at the polls to cause trouble that day.

The NOA Director of Oyo State, Moshood Olaleye also spoke and urged voters to elect credible candidates that have been proven worthy of public trust. He also warned the voters and stakeholders not to incite violence at the polls, stating that there would be a statewide sensitization campaign held by the NOA to guard against that.

He rounded up his remarks by adding that residents should involve themselves in the electoral process and come out en masse on Election Day to cast their votes and observe the process.

The Inter-Party Advisory Committee(IPAC) Chairman, Mr. Fagbemi Adegbenro also echoed the chairman while speaking and called on all relevant security agencies to protect all law-abiding voters that day and to make sure that any violence or voter intimidation would be instantly nipped in the bud.

He also directed the political parties vying for posts to ensure that their campaigns did not occur on the same day to prevent political parties.

The Department of State Services also had a representative, Margaret Ayoola present who charged traditional and religious rulers to speak to their subjects and advise them to avoid getting involved in any violence during the electoral process.

Representatives of other security agencies such as; Correctional Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and Federal Road Safety Corps etc. also urged registered residents to come out in large numbers to vote during the election.