- It was an illegal exercise, says PDP
- You are only ranting, Ajimobi replies
Despite having inaugurated newly elected officials into the local council areas, the Oyo State governor, Chief Abiola Ajimobi, may spend the remaining months left for his administration to grapple with the ripple effects of controversies trailing the poll.
However, the successful conduct of the May 12 poll was particularly heartwarming for many, despite the criticisms that trailed it, considering the fact that local government elections had not held for many years in the pacesetter state. Plans to hold council poll in the state had been successively confronted with litigations and apathy, since 2007.
Perhaps, the jamboree that followed the inauguration of the new council officials across the state would have lasted for many days but for the sad tale of a ghastly auto crash that claimed the life of one of them-the Vice Chairman of Irepo Local Government area of Oyo State, Mr. Adeyemo Ojedele. The tragedy struck on the way to his countryhome shortly after being sworn in by the Chief Justice of Oyo State, Justice Munta Abimbola.
While the ruling All Progressives Congress members in the state bask in the euphoria of having an easy ride at the poll, stakeholders and opinion moulders have, however, advised the newly elected officials to settle down for serious work as servant-leaders, with a warning that failure to perform to expectation could be counterproductive.
Some are of the view that many grassroots communities are grossly underdeveloped with shortage of basic infrastructure such as electricity, schools, health facilities and good roads. Where such facilities exist, they lament that they are hardly ever maintained. While some residents of the state agreed that putting credible people at the helm of affairs could bring desired results to local communities, they contend that the process for selecting such leaders should be competitive enough, to bring out the best.
What happened…was a mockery of democracy. As far as our party is concerned, it was a kangaroo election that is unconstitutional. The Chairman of Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission disregarded court orders and went ahead with the election which was shoddily arranged
PDP KICKS, SCOFFS AT POLL
However, the state chapter of Peoples Democratic Party has questioned the credibility of the process that produced the current leadership at the local government areas. The party described the election as a product of illegality and warned that the elected officials should not toy with the destiny of the people.
The state Public Relations Officer of the PDP, Mr. Akeem Olatunji, in an interview with our correspondent, described the election as a sham, saying, “What good do you expect from an illegality? Can a wrong system make a positive impact?
“What happened in the state on Saturday (May 12) was a mockery of democracy. As far as our party is concerned, it was a kangaroo election that is unconstitutional. The Chairman of Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission disregarded court orders and went ahead with the election which was shoddily arranged.
“The APC government created illegal Local Council Development Areas in the state. The OYSIEC did not allow the Independent Electoral Commission and the Boundary Adjustment Commission to do their job by first looking at the viability of the artificial creation. How do they determine the boundary of the LCDAs that they hurriedly created without carrying the two commissions along?
“Again, the PDP is opposed to the composition of OYSIEC because it is partisan – the staff comprise card-carrying members of APC and we raised the issue but they turned deaf ears to us.
“At the time the timetable was rolled out and aspirants were required to pick up forms, OYSIEC didn’t have offices in all the LGAs as stipulated. They hurriedly put things together at the last minute. Besides, there was a court injunction against the election but they went ahead to do it,” Olatunji decried.
POLL WAS A RECORD SUCCESS – AJIMOBI
Reacting, however, Governor Ajimobi described cries from the opposition as “mere ranting”. He said “the success of the May 12 election” was “another plus for my administration, noting, “Politics is full of disagreement but you must be humble in your victory.”
He expressed the confidence that the success of the local government election would further strengthen democracy at the grassroots and urged the people of the state to cooperate with his administration in repositioning the state for greatness.
Ajimobi stated, “The successful conduct of the local government election demonstrated the belief of the people in this administration. Your victory at the election should be seen and understood as a great call to service. Your leadership must also reflect the people-oriented policies of our administration. You must also know that your overwhelming votes is a testimony of our acceptance by the people.
“There is no battle, there is no war that we have not won. Your victory has placed a great task on your shoulder to serve humanity. We are not politicians on pages of newspapers, we are not politicians on TV. All those who are fighting us, there is no one who has not benefited from this administration.
‘WHY WE BOYCOTTED IT’
But the PDP, speaking through its PRO, insisted that “Whatever came out of such poll is an illegality.
“We did not participate in it because we didn’t want to be part of illegality. Local goverment personnel are owed six months’ salary arrears. The money that was expended on the illegality should have been used to pay part of the salary arrears”.
In his response, the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftancy Matters, Hon. Bimbo Kolade, said that the PDP lacked the moral right to question the credibility of the election just because they did not
partake in it.
Kolade said, “We obtained an order from an Abuja court and this gave us confidence to participate in the local government election. As a matter of fact, the composition of the OYSIEC is non-partisan and all conditions that were stipulated by the constitution for a credible process were diligently followed.”
He expressed the confidence that with the support of his ministry in supervisory capacity, “the elected officials would succeed in their assignment as men and women of integrity.”
