Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission, OGSIEC, is set to conduct local government elections in the state tomorrow.
The OGSIEC has begun preparations ahead of the controversial elections in which one of the opposition parties, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had gone to court to restrain the commission not to exclude its candidate from contesting in the polls.
At the OGSIECs office yesterday, amidst tight security, all the materials needed for the elections were seen taken away by the electoral officers in charge of the 20 Local Government Areas in the state.
A source at the OGSIEC’s office told our correspondent that the state government has provided all the necessary support to the Commission, adding that,”we have no excuse not to organise free and fair elections in the state.
Meanwhile, there are at least 100 mobile policemen stationed around the commission to forestall crisis, restricting movement of people in and out of the premises.
As at this morning, more security agents have been deployed to the state to beef up security to ensure a hitch-free election. Also there is restriction of movement from 8.am to 3.pm tomorrow in the state to forestall any problem during election.
Seventy seven chairmanship candidates would be contesting for the 20 seats while there are at least 500 councillorship candidates for the 236 wards in the state.
—Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta

kindly confirm .,learnt there is no election today in isara remo north local govt due to some hiccups.

Please need more info about
the election. I am an indigiene
but away from the state presently.

As the state Independent Electoral Commission released the results of the poll, the main opposition parties, the People’s Democratic Party and the People’s Party of Nigeria kicked, rejecting the outcome of the exercise.

The electoral body said the ACN recorded a landslide victory in the council poll winning 19 chairmanship seats out of the 20 in the state.

OGSIEC added that the ruling party won 217 councillorship seats, while the PDP and the PPN won eight and one councillorship seats respectively.

The commission withheld the results of Imeko-Afon Local Government council pending the determination of a court order in respect of the poll in the area.

The OGSIEC Chairman, Alhaji Risikat Ogunfemi, added that Certificates of Return would be presented to the elected council chairmen on Monday.

The conduct of the polls had reportedly been marred by low turnout, irregularities and violence.

The PDP and PPN have however cried foul over the results of the council poll, demanding a cancelation of the election.

Former Senior Special Assistant to former president Olusegun Obasanjo on Political Matters, Dr. Gbolade Osinowo, demanded the cancellation of the results, particularly in Ijebu North Local Government Area.

Osinowo, at a news conference on Sunday in Ijebu Igbo, said the council election was an assault on democracy.

He alleged that rather than declaring the results of the council poll at the ward level as stipulated by the electoral guidelines, “OGSIEC went to Abeokuta and started dishing out fictitious results”.

He said the irregularities would be challenged at the Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal.

In the same vein, the chairman of the state PDP Caretaker Committee, Chief Ireti Oliyide, said the results were unacceptable to his party.

Also, the Bayo Dayo faction of the party in the state described the poll as “elaborate sham”.

The Director of Organisation of the faction, Mr. Segun Sowunmi, alleged in a statement that the election was characterised by massive rigging and other electoral irregularities.

PPN Director of Organisation, Deji Kalejaiye, in a statement said it was “disheartening to witness OGSIEC and other security agencies involved in the election openly declaring support for the ruling Party.”