With one week left until the gubernatorial and House of Representatives elections in the country, the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed concern about the alleged spread of illegal weapons and ammunition in the state.
The party also appealed to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (retired) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, to give immediate and urgent attention to the demilitarization of the state.
The appeal came in a statement made by acting party chief Tajuddin Lawal obtained by the Daily Post on Sunday.
“I doubt if there will be free, fair and credible elections that can be held in Osun State given the current militarized situation by the PDP thugs,” Lawal said in the statement.
Appealing directly to the NSA and the IGP, Lawal said: “We recommend your good offices to deal with the proposed withdrawal of illegal arms and ammunition from the PDP political thugs ahead of the House elections next Saturday quickly.
“What we are saying is that the electorate should be allowed to vote for their choice of candidates without coercion.”
The GPC and the People’s Democratic Party have been at odds, accusing each other of masterminding the violence that occurred in the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25.
Meanwhile, voters in Osun State expressed confidence in the process.
Remember that on Saturday 25th February 2023, Nigerians turned out in droves to exercise their civic duty in the presidential and National Assembly elections.
In Osun State, the People’s Democratic Party defeated the APC and removed all seats in the National Assembly elections.
The party also defeated all other parties in the state’s presidential elections.
Timothy Fabol, a clergyman speaking to the Daily Post, hoped the success recorded during the presidential and National Assembly elections would be replicated during the state’s House of Representatives elections.
Fabuli, who noted that despite reports of pockets of violence in other parts of the country, polling in Osun was uneventful, called on politicians and political parties to consider voters in everything they do.
Politicians must realize that without the people, there is no one. So, really, if the people are who they claim to represent, they shouldn’t see elections as a “do or die” matter.
“If they lose now, they have to come back, re-strategize, and come back again in four years,” he said.
Osun APC is concerned about gun proliferation ahead of the March 11 elections
