Osun to conduct council poll October 15

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo

Chairman, Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC), Otunba Segun Oladitan on Monday said local government election will be conducted across the State on October 15, 2022.

Briefing journalists at the Secretariat of the commission in Osogbo, Oladitan said all the inhibiting factors and circumstances hampering the conduct of the election have been ameliorated.

He said: “The current Commission was inaugurated in June, 2020 principally to conduct local government elections then. However, this objective was hampered by a number of encumbrances such as litigations, COVID-19 pandemic, EndSARS saga and necessary enabling law. 

“As at date, all the inhibiting factors and circumstances have been ameliorated, thereby making the coast very clear for the Commission to conduct local government elections. All previous laws on local government elections in the State had been repealed.”

Oladitan explained that the mode of the forthcoming election will be presidential whereby chairmen of local government councils shall be elected directly and the Ward Councillors shall be elected separately against the parliamentary mode under which the 2018 election was conducted.

“You would kindly recollect that when this commission conducted elections in January 2018, it was based on parliamentary system. I have the pleasure to inform you that the elections we are conducting this 2022 shall be on presidential system whereby chairmen of local government councils shall be elected directly and the Ward Councillors shall be elected separately,” he said.

The OSSIEC boss said the Commission had been making necessary contacts with relevant stakeholders and carrying out in-house preparations for the conduct of the elections.

He assured the people of the state that members of the commission will ensure that the elections are free, fair, transparent and credible.

It would be recalled that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had filled a suit before the Federal High Court, Osogbo, in FHC/OS/CS/94/2022, challenging OSSIEC on the planned local government election.

The party prayed the court to restrain INEC from releasing voters register to OSSIEC for reason of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 with respect to giving notice of elections, nomination of candidates, publication of names etc.