The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised a series of allegations against the Barrister Hashim Abioye-led Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) ranging from denying the opposition APC a level play ground for the local government council elections slated for February 22nd, 2024.
It would be recalled that the OSSSIEC chairman, Barr Abioye, addressed a press conference in Osogbo, the state capital yesterday, where he alleged that some political parties participating in the forthcoming local government elections in the state violated the provisions and procedures regarding substitution of candidates.
The OSSIEC chairman stated that his commission would allow a 48-hour deadline for the affected parties to correct the said infractions having to do with the nomination of chairmanship, vice-chairmanship and councillorship candidates by the APC in nine local government council areas of the state.
The affected local government council areas, according to Barr Hashim, are Atakumosa-West, Ede-South, Egbedore, Ife-Central, Ifedayo, Isokan, Olorunda and Oriade.
To meet up with the directives of the Chairman, the APC had concluded all arrangements to ensure delivery of the necessary documents to the OSSIEC but to its surprise, the OSSIEC had closed as at 2:15pm today 19th September, 2024.
All efforts made by the APC yielded no result as there was no one to contact for purpose of official duties placed on the OSSIEC over the issues.
Findings revealed that some of the alleged irregularities raised by the OSSIEC were caused from the administrative loopholes of the Commission who had not thoroughly done a fact check before rushing to the press.
The OSSIEC does not even have a public relation officer with whom any political party could relay its worries and complaints in case of any administrative errors while the Chairman does virtually all the administrative jobs.
It is not lost on the public that a suit is pending in court challenging competence of Barr. Hashim Abioye to head the Commission on the ground that he is not only a card-carrying member of the PDP but also that he hotly contested a ticket for Ifelodun State Constituency in 2023 and lost as alleged.
It is surprisingly disturbing that a Commission which gave parties 48 hours to regularise its nomination could shut down office around 2 pm of the following day after the issuance of the ultimatum.
The OSSIEC is either unprepared for the elections or mischievous in its directives to close period for regularization or nomination of candidates by any political party almost five months to the planned elections.
This is accurate more so that the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission Law, 2022 permits any political party a right to withdraw nomination of its candidate at least, 14 days before the election.
Section 30 (2) provides thus:
"A Political Party may withdraw the nomination of its candidate by notice in writing signed by the Secretary of the political party and delivered in person to the Commission not later than fourteen days to the election."
The election is fixed for February 2025 and the OSSIEC has, in September 2024, threatened to shut out the candidates of the opposition and just a few hours into its ultimatum closed its Secretariat at around 2.18pm of 19th September, 2024.
The state chairman of the APC, Sooko Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement issued by the party's Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, today, wondered why the hasty closure of the OSSIEC office in Osogbo at about 2pm when the APC counsel, Barr Adeoye Galadima, visited the office in respect of the OSSIEC's allegation against the major opposition party in the state on Thursday?
Lawal stated that the conduct of the Barr Hashim-led OSSIEC is an indication that he is working assiduously to deliberately frustrate the brighter chances of the APC in the elections by making himself and all the categories of staff of the commission inaccessible by hurriedly closing the office before 2:30pm today when the party's counsel came for enquiries.
It will shock members of the public to marrow to state that, aside the fact that the OSSIEC has not made available to the party its Guidelines for the Elections, several efforts to obtain the Guidelines had suffered huge frustration from the Barr Hashim-led OSSIEC.
To ensure full compliance with the Regulations of the elections, on July 31st, 2024, the APC caused a formal request for certified true copy of the Guidelines from the Commission but surprisingly, the Commission rejected the request and directed that a new application be made on the ground that heading of the request letter reads, "Planned Elections for 2025".
Another effort was hurriedly made within 10 minutes and a new letter was brought carrying the heading as so demanded by the OSSIEC but it was very disturbing that the OSSIEC, like in this manner, closed the Secretariat around 3:25pm and ran away.
For about two days after, the OSSIEC did not open again.
Having waited in vain, the APC caused the letter be dispatched through Courier Service on 9th August, 2024 via Shipment No. 8222365001. The dispatch was done at the Secretariat and the OSSIEC refused to acknowledge its receipt.
The APC then did another request letter by itself and up till this moment, the Hashim-led OSSIEC has not released the Guidelines.
This may be taken as a justification of the transfer of Barr Hashim by the PDP and Governor Ademola Adeleke administration from his position as a Special Adviser to the Governor to the OSSIEC as the chairman?
With this questionable and suspicious conduct of Barr Hashim-led OSSIEC, does one need to think twice that the electoral body is compromised and it is not capable of holding a free, fair and credible election?
"We shall employ all constitutionally acceptable means to ensure that the candidates of our party are not victimized by a pungently compromised electoral body that is not acting in tandem with its supposed independent attribute.
"Part of the reasons why we are smelling a rat about the independent nature of the Hashim-led OSSIEC is not limited to facts stated above", the Osun State APC chairman stated.
e-SIGNED:
Sooko TAJUDEEN LAWAL, Chairman, Osun APC
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