Uneasy Calm As OYSIEC Keeps Mum Over LG Poll

Four weeks after an Abuja court ordered the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission, OYSIEC to go on with the conduct of election into the 33 existing local government area in the state, political parties are yet to hear anything from the electoral body.

OYSIEC, recalled had fixed election for April 2017 before an Abuja Federal High Court, overruled it following a case brought before it by some traditional chiefs from Oyo federal constituency. They had taken the state to court for ‘ceding’ parts of the land to neighbouring local council development areas, LCDAs, without any referendum.

The state had to stop the election, appointing caretaker chairmen for all the LGAs and LCDAs. It recently renewed their tenure.

However, the silence of the electoral body, four weeks after the court order, is making people, especially politicians to be unsure of the conduct of election.

Last month, on October 25th, 2017, the court, after pleas by the state government, ordered the conduct of the election.

Speaking with a top chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, said the leadership of the party is ready for the election, adding that the party is only waiting for guidelines to be followed.

The source, who didn’t want name mentioned, assured that the party is going to conduct a free and fair primaries.

Efforts to get a member of OYSIEC to react proved abortive as his number was not available.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has decried the non-conduct of local government election in the state.

The party, in a statement signed by its publicity secretary, Engr. Akeem Olatunji, blamed the development on the “insincerity of Governor Abiola Ajimobi, corruption and the non-readiness of the APC to relinquish power at the grassroots.”

It also accused OYSIEC of its inability to perform its constitutional duty after it got clearance from the federal High Court in Abuja, adding that it had “put all available structures on ground to disorganise APC, set aside the clueless government of the day and take over governance at the thirty three local government areas of the State whenever election is conducted.”

Lamenting what it called the ‘dictatorial and undemocratic attitude’ of the APC led government, particularly as it concerns local government election, Olatunji said APC led government was not ready to relinquish power hence her refusal to conduct local government election despite the removal of all bottlenecks they have been citing as stumbling blocks.