Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has accused the Nigeria Police Force of aiding the All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig Saturday’s governorship election, alleging officers were helping to disrupt voting in parts of the state.
Speaking shortly after casting his ballot at about 8:33 a.m., Adeleke said he had received reports that police were teargassing residents in Modakeke and Oba Ogun to disperse voters. “We don’t want violence in Osun. All we want is free and fair election so that people can perform their civic duty,” he said.
The governor warned against any attempt to bypass proper collation procedures, saying results must flow “from units to wards and to LGs. Not that they will take LG collation straight to the state capital. That’s unacceptable. That’s a form of rigging.”
Adeleke also alleged on “authority” that the APC planned to use fake ballot papers. “I want Osun people to watch out for that too. We don’t accept that in Osun,” he said, and urged security agencies to remain neutral throughout the process.
The police, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC had not responded to the allegations as of this report.
INEC said the election was underway, reporting that Registration Area Centres (RACs) were activated by 6:09 p.m. on Friday. The commission said 94.5 percent of polling units — 3,556 of 3,763 — had opened by 8:30 a.m. on election day. A further 207 units (5.5 percent) experienced minor delays but were fully operational by 9:00 a.m. INEC described the RAC activation and polling unit openings as peaceful, orderly and timely.
