Adeleke Campaign Raises Alarm, Alleges Plan to Declare Poll Inconclusive

The campaign organisation of Accord Party governorship candidate Ademola Adeleke has raised concerns over an alleged plan to declare the ongoing Osun governorship election inconclusive.

The alarm was raised in a statement signed by Rep. Bamidele Salam, Chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee of the Imole Campaign Council.

The campaign alleged that some political actors were putting pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission to withhold a final declaration and declare the election inconclusive. It described the alleged move as an attempt to frustrate what it called Adeleke’s expected victory in the poll.

The organisation accused some governors and leaders of the All Progressives Congress of being behind the alleged plan, describing it as an attempt to interfere with the wishes of voters after the conclusion of voting.

The campaign urged INEC to remain committed to conducting a transparent and credible process. It also appealed to the APC and security agencies to respect President Bola Tinubu’s earlier directive that the election should not be compromised.

According to the campaign, the conduct of the Osun election is important because it could provide an indication of how future elections, including the 2027 general elections, will be managed.

The organisation also called on the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the Department of State Services, the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other security agencies to strengthen security around collation centres across the state.

It alleged that political thugs had been deployed by the APC to interfere with the electoral process and called for adequate protection at the various collation points to prevent further disruptions.

The campaign further alleged that ballot boxes had been taken away from some polling units by suspected thugs during the election.

It called on security agencies to investigate the reported incidents and arrest anyone found to have been involved in the alleged hijacking of electoral materials.

The campaign organisation also appealed to local and international observers monitoring the election to pay attention to the developments and ensure that the electoral process remains within the law.

However, the allegations made by the Adeleke campaign could not be independently verified based on the information available.

The organisation maintained that the final outcome of the election should reflect the votes cast by the people of Osun State and urged all relevant institutions to protect the integrity of the process through the collation and declaration stages.