Chairman, Ogun Independent Electoral Commission, OGSIEC, Mr. Babatunde Osibodu (4th from right) during a chat with OGIS correspondent in his office at Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta,
By Adejoke Adeleye/Abeokuta
The Chairman, Ogun Independent Electoral Commission, OGSIEC, Mr. Babatunde Osibodu has said no date has been fixed for the state’s local government election.
Osibodu who spoke during a chat with OGIS correspondent in his office at Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, however assured that the Commission would put necessary arrangements in place to ensure security of lives and property, for a peaceful Local Government election in the State.
“We cannot give a definite date for the exercise yet, as you know, we need to give 90 days’ notice to the public and the aspirants. We are also assessing what we have on ground”, Osibodu maintained.
“We want to assure everyone that the Commission will be fair, equitable, just, transparent and even-handed with stakeholders, political parties, candidates and others. We are also taking our time to make proper arrangements, so that we won’t come up with a date and change it later.
“We cannot give a definite date for the exercise yet, as you know, we need to give 90 days’ notice to the public and the aspirants. We are also assessing what we have on ground”, Osibodu maintained.
He urged aspirants not to see the coming election as a do or die affair by shunning all forms of electoral violence.
According to him, the Commission would synergize with various security agencies in the State, in order to stem violence, saying, “when violence is tamed from elections, other things become easy, just as it will also boost the confidence of the electorate”.
The Chairman added that plans were in top gear to explore Information Technology to make electoral process faster and easier, while adequate recruitment and training of ad hoc personnel would be properly done, to man the 4,038 polling units across the 20 Local Government Areas.
“Information Technology is one of our major plans, we are liaising with Ogun State Tech-Hub to get necessary infrastructure in place. We will carry along every stakeholder, so as to ensure that the election is successful”, Osibodu said.
The OGSIEC boss assured that the forthcoming Local Government election in the State would be fair, transparent, equitable, even-handed and unbiased, to all political parties and other partakers.
Contributing, one of the Commissioners in the Commission, Mrs. Gbemi Onasanya who pointed out that effective information dissemination is essential in the process of election, said the existing media bond with OGSIEC would be sustained, to keep members of the public abreast of happenings, describing them as partners in progress.