New twist as LP withdraws from Osun LG elections over fear of attack

One of the major political parties in the country, Labour Party (LP) , has announced its decision to pull out of Saturday’s local government election in Osun State ,citing inadequate security arrangements.

Speaking to journalists on Friday in Osogbo, the party’s state chairman, Mr. Adebayo Bello, explained that the withdrawal was necessary due to the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission’s (OSSIEC) failure to ensure proper security measures for a peaceful election.

Bello urged OSSIEC to postpone the election by one or two months to allow sufficient time to address security issues and resolve ongoing legal disputes related to the poll.

Similarly, Mr. Oyebode Babalola, the LP chairmanship candidate, echoed these concerns, emphasizing the party’s reluctance to endanger its supporters.

“Although, we are ready for the election, but we are not going to participate, due to security concern. We have seen some traces that the election might be disrupted tomorrow and we are not ready to put the lives of our people in jeopardy,” he said.

Babalola also criticized OSSIEC for inadequate election preparations, stating that the party struggled to obtain accreditation tags for its agents despite repeated attempts to contact the commission.

In a related development, Allied Peoples Movement (APM) Chairman Adewale Adebayo expressed dissatisfaction with OSSIEC’s readiness, noting that he was unable to deliver the party’s withdrawal letter on Thursday as no officials were present at the commission’s office.

“We want to confirm that we are not participating in the illegal local government election, slated for Saturday. We are very disappointed that all OSSIEC staff, including its chairman, have absconded from their headquarters since Wednesday,” he said.

Journalists who visited the OSSIEC office on Friday to collect accreditation tags were turned away by security personnel, who stated that the premises had been closed since Wednesday. Efforts to reach OSSIEC Chairman Hashim Abioye were unsuccessful, as calls to his mobile phone did not go through.

The election controversy follows conflicting court rulings: while the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, had advised suspending the election after a Court of Appeal judgment reportedly reinstated sacked All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen, a state high court ruled that the election should proceed as planned.