Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a leader of the All Progressives Congress, or APC, in Osun State, has urged President Bola Tinubu to pressure Governor Ademola Adeleke to postpone holding the state’s local government poll on Saturday.
According to former legislator Oyintiloye, holding a local government election would be an anomaly because there was no void in the local council regions.
Speaking to reporters in Osogbo on Thursday, the APC chairman made this claim.
According to Oyintiloye, the potential for violence to break out in the state as a result of the election has made the president’s intervention inevitable.
If the state administration is unhappy with the Court of Appeal’s ruling, he said, it should move to the Supreme Court instead of holding an election, which may cause a crisis.
Oyintiloye stated that the six fatalities that occurred in various state council areas on Monday, together with several injuries, were compelling enough arguments against holding the poll.
He underlined that the state administration shouldn’t endanger citizens’ lives for political reasons.
He did, however, commend security agencies for their prompt and effective intervention in bringing calm back to the state.
“I want to appeal to the President to prevail on Gov. Adeleke not to go ahead with the election for security reasons.
“All we want in the state is peace, and anything that can jeopardize the peaceful atmosphere should be avoided.
“Presently, there is no vacuum in all the 30 council areas in the state due to the Court of Appeal judgment that reinstated the APC chairmen and councillors.
“Gov. Adeleke must protect the tenets of democracy and respect the rule of law that brought him to power.
“Since it is the constitutional responsibility of any government to protect lives and property, the state government should shun anything that can lead to bloodshed. President Bola Tinubu should prevail on Adeleke and make him see reasons why the election cannot be held,” Oyintiloye said.
Oyintiloye went on to say that the state’s APC members would remain peaceful and respect all constitutional provisions aimed at safeguarding people’s lives and property.
The APC chieftain encouraged citizens to uphold the law while expressing sympathy to the families who lost loved ones in the crisis.
