Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has called on residents of the state to troop out en masse next Saturday to cast their votes in the state elections, reassuring them of maximum security throughout the process.
Speaking after the second State Security Council meeting held yesterday within the premises of the Governor’s Office in Osogbo, the state capital, the governor stated that the service commanders have concluded arrangements to secure lives and property, warning hoodlums and political thugs to stay away from the state.
According to Adeleke, “Let me use this opportunity to warn agents of political violence to stay away from Osun State. Our security arrangements are water-tight and there will be no hidden place for those plotting to disrupt the peace of the state.
“I have issued directive to the security chiefs to clamp down on anybody scheming to create mayhem. The service commanders will comb all criminal hideouts and flush out criminals who are targeting the election day for their trade. Election must be peacefully held in this state.”
The second security council meeting agreed on the following namely: the mapping of hotspots ahead of the election, arrangements for voters and security identifications, joint patrol of trouble spots and intelligence sharing among the agencies.
The meeting was attended by heads of security agencies in the state, including the police, the military, the para-military organisations among others.
The church leaders, therefore “strongly advised the acting REC in the person of the administrative secretary to be careful not to allow himself to be exploited or manipulated by anybody or group to subvert the sovereign will of our people.”
They also scoffed at the new political fad of “if you don’t like the result, go to court,” saying anything worth doing is worth doing well, hence “as responsible citizens, the end does not justify the means.
“Therefore, we must conduct ourselves responsibly to ensure that should any (candidate) require approaching the court it would be for avoidable matters in issue.
“We equally appeal to all INEC staff, both full-time and ad hoc, to vehemently resist the temptation to receive bribes or gratification from anybody or group towards manipulating the votes and stealing the mandate of the people.”
