APM accuses OSSIEC of wasting billions on ‘shadow election’ in Osun

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo

The Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) has been accused of wasting billions of naira on a “shadow election” that never truly took place.

The chairman of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Hon. Adewale Adebayo, criticized OSSIEC over Saturday’s local government election, alleging that the election only took place in Ede, the hometown of Governor Ademola Adeleke.

According to Adebayo, OSSIEC’s insistence on conducting the poll was merely a justification for spending allocated funds, which he described as fraudulent.

He stated that the experience in Osun State was not an election but a lockdown, as people refused to participate in what he called an illegal poll, except in Ede, where only a few PDP members voted.

The APM chairman said, “Our party stands vindicated. We had earlier expressed concerns that OSSIEC could never conduct a meaningful election, given that its chairman, Hashim Abioye, is a card-carrying member of the PDP, serves Adeleke as Special Adviser on Legal Matters, and was once the PDP caretaker secretary.

“The Osun State government, through OSSIEC, only wasted billions of naira on a shadow election. Our members in Irewole, Isokan, Boripe, Ifelodun, Olorunda, Egbedore, Irepodun, Orolu, and other places confirmed that elections did not hold.

“What we experienced in Osun State today was not an election but a lockdown, as people refused to participate in the illegal poll, except in Ede, where only a few members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) voted in some polling units belonging to top political appointees of the governor.

“In fact, in Ede, where they held the illegal election, they claimed to have concluded voting by 8:30 a.m.—the same Ede that voted until 9 p.m. during the 2022 governorship election.”

He demanded that “Adeleke, Abioye, and other members of the cabinet who have fled the state should make a statewide broadcast to apologize to residents for imposing a lockdown on them.”

Reacting, the Secretary to the State Government, Teslim Igbalaye, countered Adebayo’s claim, stating that OSSIEC successfully conducted the local government election on Saturday.

Igbalaye, who noted that there was a massive turnout of voters, said he cast his vote at Ward 7, Unit 7 in Osogbo.