Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan
Oyo Government said it has secured an order that will facilitate the conduct of elections to select executives for local governments election in the state.
In a statement in Ibadan on Wednesday, the State’s Commissioner for information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun quoted the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Oluwaseun Abimbola as saying that Order 3 of the interim injunction forbidding INEC from releasing the voters register to OYSIEC for conduct of elections into LGs and LCDAs has been discharged by the court.
“In respect of the case filed by Oyo baales challenging the LCDAs and in which the court had issued an injunction preventing the conduct of elections into LG&LCDAs. I made an application to the court to discharge the part of the Interim order preventing our conduct of elections into LGs since the subject matter of the suit is only on the propriety of LCDAs and not LGs.
“The other counsels in the matter all conceded to the point as canvassed by the Oyo State Government on this matter. Consequently, the Order 3 of the Interim injunction forbidding INEC from releasing voters register to OYSIEC for conduct of elections into LGs and LCDAs has been discharged by the court. Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) is now at liberty to conduct LG elections only, but not into LCDAs which is still pending in court,” the Attorney General explained in the statement.
Abimbola said the new development would clear the air and misrepresentation by the people who believe that the state government was not interested in the conduct of the local government election, pointing out that the order secured is a demonstration to the fact that the state government is ready for the conduct of the election and the barrier has been removed.