LG Elections: OSSIEC Promoting Half-Truths, Our Nomination Forms Not Purchased On Credit-Osun APC

Osun State APC submitted on Saturday that the assertion made by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) in the statement it issued on Friday in which the electoral body had claimed that the party’s candidates got nomination forms on credit is untrue.

The party in a statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com by its Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi claimed that the state APC also overpaid the bill by making the sum of N50 million available to the electoral body.

.’We make bold to say that it was not possible for the major opposition party, the APC, which Abioye consented to have overpaid for the nomination fees in excess of N12,050,000.00K and was refunded by OSSIEC, to have bought nomination forms on credit as he had alleged’ the statement said while adding that ‘it was not humanly possible for someone who paid N50 million for a service worth  less than N40,000,000.00K to be accused of purchasing nomination forms on credit’.

The party also said the chairman of the electoral body, Barrister Hashim Abioye cannot successfully oversee the election process and ensure a fair, credible and acceptable local government elections in the state because of some reasons.

‘Our position is premised on so many grounds not limited to his refusal to publicly deny being a card-carrying member of the PDP , his continued membership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his avowed loyalty to the state Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke who posted him to the electoral commission while he was still serving   as his Special Adviser on Legal Matters’ the statement added.

The party also asserted that all the steps that are required had been followed in respect of the substitution of its candidates adding that the electoral umpire should not have made a capital out of this or deliberately create obstacles for the APC candidates.

‘It is therefore strange, if Abioye, a legal practitioner with 14 years’ post-call experience would not be in the know of the fact that a political party may withdraw the nomination of its candidate by notice in writing signed by the secretary of the political party and delivered in person to the commission not later than 14 days to the election?

‘Our Chairman’ ought to have read and understood these express and unambiguous provisions of the OSSIEC Law before making a regulation and dishing out commands in that regard. All this put a big question mark on competence and understanding of the one-man show constituted as the Commission. 

Is it also not known to the compromised and controversial OSSIEC chairman that the law provides for a candidate to withdraw his candidacy by notice in writing signed by him and delivered in person to the political party that nominated him for the election and the political party shall convey such a withdrawal to the commission not later than seven days to the election?

Must the APC candidates be made to suffer for the obvious official lapses and dereliction of the ineptitude officials of the OSSIEC as the existing correspondence of the state leadership of the main opposition party have established the iron cast proof that everything needed to be done  administratively had been done legally by the party to effect the changes in the nominations of some of the candidates?

Is it beyond the comprehension of Abioye, a lawyer, that it is a settled law by the judgment of the apex court of the land that an electoral management body has no constitutional power to disqualify a candidate from contesting elections without a valid order of a court? the statement added.

The party also alleged that the electoral body is seeking to create an atmosphere that will make the PDP `fraudulently win’ all the chairmanship and councillorship positions in the state while vowing however that ‘this shall be vehemently resisted through the instrumentality of the law of the land’–Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank yo