Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has urged voters participating in Saturday’s governorship election to actively protect their votes and remain vigilant throughout the voting and collation processes.
Adeleke made the call shortly after casting his ballot at Ward 2, Unit 9, Sagba Abogunde, Ede North Local Government Area.
The governor urged eligible voters across the state to exercise their constitutional rights peacefully and responsibly, stressing the importance of active participation in the electoral process.
He also called on voters to ensure that their choices were properly recorded and urged electoral officials to adhere strictly to established procedures during voting and collation.
Adeleke expressed concern over alleged plans to manipulate results during the collation process.
> “We have it on good authority that fake results have been prepared for some local governments. There are concerns about attempts to replace genuine results during collation.”
He further alleged that there were plans to move some local government collation centres to Osogbo, the state capital, warning that such a move would be resisted.
According to him, results from each local government should be collated at the designated centres in accordance with electoral guidelines.
“All collation must be done at each local government. Under no circumstances should local government collation be taken to the state capital,” Adeleke said.
The governor, who is seeking re-election, also expressed confidence in his chances of winning the election by a wide margin.
“I am winning this election with wide margins. I have God and the people,” he said.
Adeleke, however, urged his supporters and other stakeholders to remain peaceful, patient and law-abiding throughout the electoral process.
Meanwhile, voters reportedly turned out in large numbers across Osun State to participate in the governorship election, with voting progressing at several polling units.
Reports from different parts of the state indicated significant voter participation, although there were also reports of sporadic incidents in some areas.
The election is being conducted across the state’s 30 local government areas, with voters expected to complete voting before the results are collated at designated centres.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adeleke cast his ballot earlier on Saturday at Ede North Local Government Area as voting continued across the state.
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