Osun State Governor and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Ademola Adeleke, has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of allegedly working to manipulate Saturday’s governorship election.
Adeleke also appealed to security agencies to remain impartial and ensure that voters are allowed to exercise their rights without intimidation.
The governor spoke shortly after casting his ballot. He said voting had been peaceful at his polling unit but expressed concern over reports of alleged disruptions in other parts of the state.
According to Adeleke, a police officer popularly known as “London” was allegedly brought from Port Harcourt to Osun State and assigned to cause trouble in Ede.
“I have it on authority information, that there is one police officer that they brought to come and do an acted job, the APC Osun, from Port Harcourt. They call his nickname London. He’s here in Ede hiding,” Adeleke alleged.
He claimed the officer was allegedly brought in to create fear among residents and discourage them from turning out to vote.
“His own job is to come and destroy Ede, and then avoid, so that he can scare people, shooting, so that they will not vote,” he said.
Adeleke urged the Inspector-General of Police and other security agencies to look into the allegation and, if necessary, redeploy the officer.
“They should redeploy him. We don’t want him in Oshun. We don’t want violence in Oshun. All we want is free and fair election, so that people can perform their civic duty,” he said.
The governor also alleged that the APC was planning to interfere with election materials and manipulate the collation process.
“I hold it on authority that the APC are trying to rig and have some fake ballot papers. I want Oshun people to watch out for that too,” Adeleke said.
He further claimed that voters in Modakeke and Obagun were allegedly being dispersed with tear gas.
“Right now, as I’m voting right now, I’ve just received a call in Modakeke and Obagun, that police is aiding them to tear gas them, so that people can run away,” he alleged.
Adeleke also claimed that a ballot box was taken away during the reported incident.
“The dogs took the ballot box and ran away,” he said.
He called on security agencies to investigate the reports and prevent any actions capable of disrupting the election.
“I hope they do something, so that they will not turn Oshun state into war zone,” the governor added.
Despite the concerns he raised, Adeleke said voting around his immediate area remained peaceful. He also expressed confidence that he would emerge victorious in the election.
The allegations made by the governor had not been independently verified at the time of publication. The APC and the relevant security agencies had yet to publicly respond to the specific allegations.
