A Southwest’s People oriented group cum movement, Transparent Politics, (TP) has cautioned against any action that may destabilize the peace in the region and Ondo State ahead of the November 16 gubernatorial election in the Sunshine State.
In a statement issued in the Oyo state capital, Ibadan, on Tuesday and signed by its President, Debo Oyewo and Modinat Taylor, Secretary respectively, the group said it’s putting out the warning, against the backdrop of a statement credited to the All Progressive Congress in Ondo State, that the Edo election template will be adopted by the APC, in the November 16 election.
According to the group, “replicating the charade that took place last Saturday in Edo will amount to the invitation of the 1983 scene in the state and that will be too much to handle at this point of our troubled polity.”
Submitting that the group have been monitoring unfolding events in the state, “especially since the flag off of the campaigns, we have records of the heavy movements of the grassroots out of the ruling party in some parts of the state.
“We are not also unaware of the mood, opinion and wishes in the state through collations done by our Secretariat within the state thus we know what may likely be the voting pattern because most residents have tagged APC as a failure in the state.
“While calling on the relevant security agencies to ensure law and order are maintained before , during and after the election, we like to draw attention to a statement credited to the People’s Democratic party in the state that it will resist the repeat of the Edo trade off in the state” the group alerted.
Also calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), “to ensure a proper conduct of the election” TP mentioned that “Intel at our disposal suggests that the people of the state of are determined to resist any move to compromise the election using state power.
“We also have information to the extent that the ruling party have proposed a vote buying price of N30,000 per vote as against the N20,000 offered in Edo state, being the highest so far in the history of vote buying in the country” the group opened up.
Warning that the signals coming from the state are dangerous, TP said replicating the Edo episode, which it described as a legacy of the APC’s
grab, snatch, and run template, is like putting fire on one’s roof.
The group thus registered that “because a stitch in time, they say, saves nine, hence, this timely appeal because Ondo State people are fighters who don’t usually look the other way when slapped.
“It will be in the interest of all that, the authority concerned prevent any form of compromise in the election and allow the people determine their governor through a transparent system.”
