Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde on Thursday, urged the opposition in the state not to overheat the polity stressing that politics should not be a do or die.
Governor Makinde, who spoke during the inauguration of the state Independent Electoral Commission at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan, venue of the swearing-in, said it is too early to think of whether he would re-contest in 2023 or not.
He said, “Some parties said they want to unseat me in 2023. It is okay, but I have not indicated the interest to run in 2023, as it is still too early. I may or may not. I have a second address and that is what we want to encourage in our space.
“This board will have free hand. If they want to unseat me, it’s fine; but they should contest and win many councillorship seats as much as possible so that we can know they are really serious. I will encourage them and others to contest in 2023.
“Who knows who is going to be alive in the next hour? We are only sure of this moment. So, they should calm down. Elections should never be war or a do-or-die affair. Election in a democracy should be about the will of the people.
“I believe that the mandate of this board is to conduct an inclusive election. So, gone are the days when the governor of the state will manipulate matter so that some political parties will not field candidates. We are not here to play games.
“So, I am saying to this board that the will of the people must remain sacrosanct. We have sent your names to the House of Assembly. We believe you are men and women of integrity. I have met one or two of you personally. It is not about the political party but the interest of the state and I believe the state will be proud of you.”
He charged OYSIEC to conduct the local government election within the shortest possible time, in line with the will of the people of the state, adding that its members should deliver credible, free and fair poll in the state.
Disclosing that his administration had allocated funds for the OYSIEC in the 2020 Budget, he said, “I want to thank the House of Assembly for confirming you in a timely manner. I hope that you will also imbibe the sense of urgency and conduct credible local government election in Oyo State within the shortest possible time.
“We knew this would come and we already allocated money in the Oyo State Budget for this year to conduct the election. Within the shortest possible time; please give us elected officials at the local government level that are known to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The OYSIEC Chairman, Mr. Olagunju, said, “The essence of inaugurating the board is to organise and manage local government election; that is our mandate and we have to follow it.
“We were just inaugurated today. We need to go back to the office, see what is happening before we can talk about when to hold the election. It is possible this year but everything depends on the circumstances that we find ourselves when we get to the office. We want to assure the people of Oyo State that we will conduct a transparent, credible and acceptable election.”
The Board members are Adeniji Babatunde, Alhaja Ganiyat Saka, Mr. Emmanuel Olanrewaju, Chief Kunmi Agboola, Mr. Aderemi Ayoade, Mr. Sunday Falana and Mr. Adeojo Elias.
