Clement Adeyi, Osogbo

The Osun State chapter of the Odua People’s Congress (OPC) has called on stakeholders of the September 22, 2018,  governorship election in the state to go the whole hog in ensuring a peaceful and or violence-free exercise before, during and after the poll.

The Osun OPC chapter which is under the leadership of the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, made the call, on Wednesday, in Osogbo, in a statement

He urged the politicians to embark on peaceful  campaigns ahead of the  election to avoid any unnecessary rancour or acrimony.

The statement which was issued by the Supervisory Coordinator of the OPC, Prince Adedeji Aladesawe, also urged politicians and their supporters to ensure sustenance of the nation’s fledgling democracy by ensuring a rancour-free election through a true democratic campaign.

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“We want politicians and their supporters to note that at this  period of nascent political development in Nigeria. We cannot afford to toy with the present opportunity by embarking on an adventure that may truncate the democratic experiment earned through the sweat and blood of those who sacrificed their precious lives for what we all are presently enjoying,” Aladesawe said.

He also enjoined the political gladiators especially the parties’ candidates to also embark on peaceful campaigns and present their programmes and policies that would impact positively on the standard of living of the people of the state ahead of the election.

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He also urged the candidates  to jettison acts of brigandage, hooliganism and any other act capable of negating the election processes.

Aladesawe also appealed to the candidates’s agents to consider the development of the state as a common agenda that must be collectively achieved irrespective of political lineage or differences by shining antidemocratic tendencies during the poll.

“We must join hands together in ensuring that the relative peace being enjoyed in the state is sustained before, during and after the governorship election, as no meaningful development can be achieved in a state of kiosk,” he said.

He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remain an unbiased umpire and conduct a  free, fair, transparent poll that would be acceptable to all and stand the test of time.

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He urged the security agencies, including the DSS, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the military to remain neutral in the discharge of their duties during the election.

Aladesawe called on President Muhammadu Buhari to provide a level-playing ground for all the governorship candidates and political parties during the electioneering campaigns, the election proper and thereafter.