Let winner of re-run be magnanimous in victory, loser gracious in defeat, US, EU, UK speak on Osun elections, as Nigerian Police exposes vote-buying politicians

The Missions of the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States have commended voters, the electoral body and the security agencies over the peaceful conduct of September 22 Osun governorship election.

The missions, in a joint statement, also stressed that the re-run, slated for Thursday, September 27, should take place without any violence, intimidation, or vote buying.

The missions statement reads, “The Missions of the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States observed the voting in Osun State September 22.

“We commend the people of Osun for voting peacefully, the Independent National Electoral Commission for the improved organisation of the election, and security services for their conduct.

“We urge that all continue to support a peaceful, free, fair, and credible completion of the process as INEC re-runs the election in seven polling units where – through no fault of their own – voters were not able to cast their votes and have them counted last Saturday.

“We stress the importance that the re-run should take place without any violence, intimidation, or vote buying.

“Whoever wins the election after Thursday’s vote should be magnanimous in victory, and whoever loses should be gracious in defeat.”

On election day

The Nigeria Police Force had on Saturday, while the Osun State governorship election was ongoing, confirmed its arrest of three suspects for vote buying during the Osun governorship election.

The suspects are: Muriat Olalekan, 61, Hamzat Muniru,65 and Adeagbo Wasiu.

A statement by the force spokesman, Acting DCP Jimoh Moshood on Saturday in Abuja, said that the suspects were allegedly arrested in the act of vote buying.

Moshood said the arrest followed the deployment of operatives of IGP Monitoring Unit and the Intelligence Response Team of the Force.

He said that the sum of N720,000 was recovered from the suspects even as he said investigation into the cases was ongoing and that the suspects would be arraigned on completion of investigation.

Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the Osun State election, says vot-buying has negatively affected the exercise.

Akinbade spoke to newsmen in Ogbagba after the accreditation and voting exercise.

“Vote-buying has cast shadows on the governorship election. Vote-buying had taken the shine off the election,’’ he said. However, he commended voters for ensuring a peaceful electoral process.

The former Secretary to the Osun State Government, who voted at his Oba’s Compound, Ward 3, Polling Unit 1 at 10.35am of the election day, also said that the nation’s democracy was improving on all fronts.

“By and large, we are inching gradually to a convenient point in our polity.

“Everybody involved in this election should be commended; the INEC officials, security agents, electorate, politicians and others.

“At least, reported cases of electoral violence are limited, apart from the incidence of vote buying that dotted everywhere while the exercise lasted.

“We just hope something will be done to it in organised electoral engagements in the future,” Akinbade said.

The ADC standard bearer appealed to the people of the state to remain peaceful and not promote violence after the release of the result. However two Civil Society Organisations monitoring the Osun governorship election on Saturday said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s) secret balloting had so far made it impossible for people to openly buy and sell votes.

The Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Mr Samson Itodo, said that the group was monitoring the election in 250 polling units.

Itodo said that so far, it was obvious that INEC took deliberate steps to ensure that the secrecy of balloting was not compromised.

“There were two things INEC assured the stakeholders of, first was the reconsideration of the polling units, the ballot box and the cubicle would be placed closer to each other.

“The polling officials were carrying out voter education in the morning, especially on how to roll their ballot papers according to the election guidelines provided by INEC guidelines.

“So, INEC kept to its promise of secret balloting, however, there were still some instances where voters intentionally exposed their ballot, in fact one actually happened before me.’’ Itodo encouraged voters to stop the act of exposing their ballots after voting, because, according to him, it would undermine the integrity of the entire electoral process.

He said that at the moment, the group had not observed any vote buying or selling activity though it was still very premature to state anything.

The groups, therefore, commended INEC for the conduct of the exercise, so far.

3,010 Polling Units and 755 Polling Points spread across the three senatorial districts and 30 Local Government Areas of the state.

NAN also reported that although 48 parties are participating in the election, the frontline candidates are Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC); Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Iyiola Omisore of the Social Democratic (SDP).