LOCAL GOVT. ELECTIONS 2024: SENATOR BUHARI FROWNS AT OYO GOVT., OSIEC OVER IRREGULARITIES
-COMMENDS APC FOR PEACEFUL CONDUCTS

By Semiu Azeez

The Senator representing people of Oyo North in the 10th Senate, Dr. Buhari Abdulfatai has frowned at the conduct of Oyo State government and Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission over the alleged irregularities that characterised the local government elections conducted across the State yesterday.

Senator Buhari expressed his disappointment over the ways and manners the exercise was carried out in the entire 33 local government areas of the State in a release issued and made available to Journalists in the early hours of today.

According to Senator Buhari, the elections carried out yesterday was nothing but a disgrace to democracy as it lacked credibility.

“It was not in any free and fair and so I was not amazed that the apathy from voters was glaringly noticed with individuals and groups with objective analytical minds of our democracy, ” Senator Buhari disclosed.

While declaring that local government must be strenghtened being the closest level of government to Nigerians, Senator Buhari said selection of who administers it should be based on the choice of majority of people in the council areas and that those wrongly elected yesterday were not the choices of people.

Identifying the alleged irregularities recorded in elections conducted yesterday, Senator Buhari stated that vital materials including the result sheets were not given by OSIEC to Electoral Officers posted to all units across the States.

“It was also observed that the ballot papers were not sufficient for voters. Some units were given as small as 50 to 100 ballot papers where the total number of registered voters were 500. This connoted that majority of voters were disenfranchised, ” Senator Buhari said.

The lawmaker also frowned at sitiations whereby members of the rulling People’s Democratic Party, PDP allegedly oppressed and assaulted oppositions in some polling units across the State.

The Legislator however lauded leaders and members of All Progressives Congress, APC, for their peaceful conduct before, during and after the rough local government elections across the State.

Senator Buhari commended the commitment of APC faithfuls while he declared that the party would have won in the 33 local governments if the elections were made to be free and fair.