By Our Correspondent <\/p>\n
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has assured that the Commission will do everything possible to prevent violence during the August 15 Osun governorship election, declaring that no life is worth sacrificing for political office.<\/p>\n
Prof. Amupitan stated this during a courtesy visit to the Ataoja of Osogbo, HRM Oba Jimoh Olanipekun Oyetunji, at his palace on Friday.<\/p>\n
Addressing the monarch and his chiefs, the INEC Chairman said security is a top priority for the Commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don’t want violence. And the blood of every Osun citizen is not worth to be shed, just for the purpose of election to the office of the governor. So we are very concerned as a commission,\u201d Prof. Amupitan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important in our hearts. That nobody will die because of an election in Osun.\u201d<\/p>\n
He revealed that INEC has engaged the police, the Minister of Defence, the Chief of Defence Staff and Service Chiefs to ensure special deployment to Osun State. He also cited the proliferation of fake videos as a tactic to keep voters home, and urged citizens to disregard misinformation.<\/p>\n
Prof. Amupitan noted that the peace accord signed with all political parties on Wednesday was to ensure that \u201cthe decision on who becomes the government of this state will not be decided by the barrel of guns. It will be decided by the will of the people of Osun State.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that a mock accreditation will hold on Friday in selected local governments across the three senatorial districts, including Osogbo in Osun Central, to test INEC equipment ahead of the poll.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs an institution we are committed to ensuring that this is achieved. And the good people of Osun State will have the opportunity to decide who governs them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Governorship candidates signed the peace accord in Osogbo on Thursday, pledging to shun violence and accept the outcome of the election. Their commitment, according to observers, is crucial to achieving a peaceful process.<\/p>\n
On Prof. Amupitan\u2019s entourage were INEC National Commissioners: Prof. Kunle Ajayi, Dr. Baba Gbila, Dr. Kenneth Okeagwu, Dr. Sani Adams, SAN, Sunday Ajah, Malami Tukur Yusuf, and Rear Admiral Jamila Malafa. <\/p>\n
Also on the tour was the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barrister Oluwatoyin Babalola.<\/p>\n
The Asiwaju of Osogbo, Hon. Justice Moshood Adeigbe, in his welcome remarks, thanked INEC for prioritizing Osogbo in its pre-election engagements.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have come at a time when… we want to use the palace to appeal to the citizens, particularly in Osogbo, to conduct themselves, to ensure that we have free and fair elections in Osun state,\u201d Justice Adeigbe said.<\/p>\n
The Ataoja, Oba Oyetunji, in response urged INEC to deliver a credible poll.
\n\u201cI want you to ensure a free fair election in August 15th, that it is only the will of the citizens of Osun state that will prevail,\u201d the monarch said.<\/p>\n
Prof. Amupitan also announced that the 2027 general elections will commence with the Presidential and National Assembly elections on January 16, 2027, making the Osun poll the last major off-cycle election before then.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Our Correspondent The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has assured that the Commission will do everything possible to prevent violence during the August 15 Osun governorship election, declaring that no life is worth sacrificing for political office. Prof. Amupitan stated this during a courtesy visit to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16151,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16149\/revisions\/16151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}