Osun Decides: My agents were not recognised, ADC’s Salaam laments

By Abubakar Yunus and Mahmud Isa

The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Najeem Salaam, on Saturday in Ejigbo, faulted the non-recognition of his party agents in some parts of the state.

Assessing the conducting of the exercise after casting his ballot near Ward 4, Unit 13, Ejigbo, his country home, he lamented that despite the uploading of party agents data on necessary platforms, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) didn’t recognize them at various polling units.

Though he claimed the matter had been reported at appropriate quarters, Salaam confirmed that the non-recognition of ADC agents occurred in about 10 local governments as of the time of filing this report.

The candidate, who is a former Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, stated:”Despite the fact that we uploaded all the names of our party agents, especially here in Ejigbo, the agents in Ward 5 for the ADC were not given tags. The same thing happened in about 10 local governments across the state.

“I reported the matter to the relevant authorities, and they are looking into it. When the votes are being counted, it is necessary for my agents to be recognised at the polling units.

“Apart from that, in the Ejigbo Local Government, the process has been going on without any crisis for now. I want to believe it will remain peaceful until the end of the exercise.

“As it stands, we cannot accept a situation where our party agents are not recognised. The importance of having party agents at the polling units cannot be overseen.

“All the names were uploaded onto the INEC platform, so I don’t understand why we are now being denied the opportunity to have our party agents present. Maybe towards the end of the election process, I will still address the press and let the people know how far we have gone with the matter.

“What I’m saying is part of the preparation on the side of INEC. When you requested that the parties upload the names of their agents, we did so. I don’t understand how or why the party agents would not be given tags.

“It is one part of the process. If, at the end of the day, we do not have this, then the process becomes very questionable. For now, I will remain silent on it until we get to the end of the whole exercise. If there is a fair election, with no rigging or manipulation, and there is a level playing field, I trust my God that I’m going to win the election,” Salaam posited.