Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun is happy with the peaceful conduct of the local government elections in the state.
He told newsmen after casting his vote at Ward 3, Iperu1, Unit 002, Ita Osanyin, Iperu-Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of the state that the election had been “peaceful, no disruption, no violence,” adding that the exercise is transparent.
Abiodun was at his polling booth at 11:43a.m. and voted a few minutes after arriving at the poll centre.
According to the governor, the exercise is a referendum of acceptability and performance. He added that it is a means to allow the people to experience how methodical, focused and responsible his administration has been in meeting their needs.
He said, “What currently obtains in the state is that the local governments are independent because we give them free hand to operate.
“We will respect the autonomy of the local government. They are the third tiers of government – much closer to the people. Our administration will give all the necessary support to them to ensure that they carry out their constitutional responsibilities in line with the resolutions of the Governors’ Forum.
“Everything is going on well. The election is peaceful, no disruption, no violence. People are going about their civil duties responsibly.”
Speaking on the decision of a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and some political parties in the state to boycott the exercise, the governor said:
“The boycott must have been done by the faction that lost out at the court.
“What I was made to understand was that the party that was not recognised headed to the court and the case wasn’t brought up until Thursday. And from what I understand, the court dismissed the suit that was challenging the OGSIEC accepting the other faction and following that, I think, perhaps to save face, the faction that lost out now decided to support a boycott.
“You cannot boycott an election that you are not a participant in, I really don’t understand that. But I am not a lawyer, I am not OGSIEC and I am not speaking on behalf of any party, I can only speak on behalf of my party and my administration.”
He applauded the state electoral body, saying that it ensured the process is transparent, adding that the electoral umpire provided a level playing ground for all political parties in the election.
“I believe OGSIEC has done everything within its power, their mandate is to be very transparent and to ensure that the playing field is as level as it should be for every single party that expressed desire to be part of this election”, he said.