Prominent Civil Society organisation- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has compared the just concluded governorship election in the State of Osun to the freest and fairest election to ever happen in Nigeria which was the June 12th 1993 poll that saw the emergence of the debonair Newspaper publisher Chief MKO Abiola emerging the winner.
The Rights group is therefore asking the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress and the defeated Osun State’s incumbent governor to accept the freely entered decision of the good people of State of Osun that have extended their mandate and legitimacy to exercise authority as their governor for another four years to the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). HURIWA said the voters chose the winner based strictly on individual merit and competence of the candidate and not on partisan basis. The election, HURIWA says, is a defeat of godfatherism because the voters rejected the godfather of All Progressives Congress Bola Ahmed Tinubu (national leader) who campaigned vigorously for his cousin the losing incumbent governor.
HURIWA recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the just concluded Osun State governorship election, Senator Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke, winner of the hotly contested election.
HURIWA recalled that the INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe declared Senator Adeleke the winner early Sunday morning. Adeleke defeated his closest rival, the incumbent governor, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). The PDP’s candidate secured 403,371 votes defeating Oyetola, who trailed behind with 375,027 votes. According to the result announced by INEC on Sunday, Adeleke won in 17 local government areas (LGAs) of the State. Governor Oyetola, on the other hand, won in 13 LGAs.
HURIWA which reacted to the announcement of the result timeously without any incident of violence or rancour, praised both President Muhammadu Buhari for his total non-interference in the election which enabled the will of the voters of State of Osun to be respected as sacrosanct, maintained that the conduct of the election in such a way that the much predicted violence never happened shows that given the political will on the side of President Muhammadu Buhari who commands and controls the armed forces of Nigeria for now the members of the security services can efficiently provide security covers for a free, fair transparent poll just like the just concluded election in the State of Osun.
HURIWA said the conduct of the NYSC Participants who served as adhoc staff at the election was terrific and praiseworthy just at HURIWA showered encomiums on the Professor Yakubu Mahmood led Independent National Electoral Commission for reenactment of the June 12th model of election. HURIWA urged INEC to keep up the good work and posterity will be appreciative of such uncommon heroism if such happens in 2023 poll.
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