Omisore cries foul, Aregbesola praises INEC

By Muftau Ojo/Osogbo

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun has commended the large turnout of voters in Saturday’s governorship election in the state and praised the Independent National Electoral Commission for its smooth conduct.

Aregbesola spoke after casting his vote at 11:50 am at his Ifofin Ward 8, Unit 1 Polling Unit in Ilesa. He arrived the polling unit with his wife, Sherifat, at 11:38am.

The governor said the large turnout of voters and their peaceful conduct were signals about their desire to elect a leader of their choice.

”I must commend the voters for conducting themselves in a peaceful manner and for coming out in their large numbers. This is the beauty of democracy,’’ he said.

But Sen. Iyiola Omisore, the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) lamented what he called irregularities in the conduct of the voting exercise.

Omisore, who spoke after voting at his Moore Ward 1, 003 Polling Unit at 11:25 am, alleged that there were insufficient electoral materials in some polling units in Osogbo.

He also claimed that the card readers were malfunctioning in some polling units in Ile-Ife.

Nevertheless, Omisore urged the voters to exercise their civic responsibility by trooping out to vote.

He also urged the electorate to refrain from vote-selling, saying they would be mortgaging their future.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there are 3,010 Polling Units and 755 Polling Points spread across the three senatorial districts and 30 local governments areas of the state.

Although there are a total of 1,682,495 registered voters, over 400,000 Permanent Voters Cards remain uncollected as at Friday.

NAN also reports that while 48 parties are participating in the election, Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party and Omisore of the Social Democratic Party remain the frontline candidates