By Dapo Akinrefon
OSOGBO — The Imole Campaign Council, ICC, on Friday urged security agencies deployed for Saturday’s Osun State governorship election to remain neutral and professional, while calling on the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to ensure strict compliance with President Bola Tinubu’s directive on the conduct of the poll.
The council, which is backing the re-election bid of Governor Ademola Adeleke, said the President’s directive to security agencies to protect voters and ensure a peaceful election should be implemented without compromise.
In a statement by its spokesman, Pelumi Olajengbesi, the council welcomed Tinubu’s appeal to the police and other security agencies to remain professional and neutral during the election.
The President had directed the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, and other heads of security agencies involved in the election to provide maximum security at polling units and protect voters.
Tinubu also charged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, with ensuring a transparent, free and fair election.
The ICC said the directives were particularly important given the heightened political tension surrounding the election.
According to Olajengbesi, “The Imole Campaign Council welcomes the statement by President Bola Tinubu calling on the police and other security agencies to be neutral and professional in Saturday’s governorship election.
“The President’s directive to the Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, and other heads of security outfits participating in the election to provide maximum security at polling units and protect voters needs to be stressed.
“The President also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct a ‘transparent, free and fair’ election.”
The campaign council called on the police to discharge their responsibilities impartially, saying security personnel should protect voters and electoral materials irrespective of political affiliation.
The council also urged Ribadu to ensure that the presidential directive was fully implemented.
“The Imole Campaign Council calls on the police to obey the presidential order and discharge their duties dispassionately on Saturday. We also call on the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to enforce this directive,” Olajengbesi said.
He added that security personnel should protect voters, secure polling units and arrest anyone found engaging in electoral violence or other criminal activities, regardless of political affiliation.
“Police officers must not pay lip service to this presidential directive. Voters must be protected. Polling units must be guarded. Troublemakers must be arrested regardless of party affiliation.
“Ultimately, votes must count. This is the beauty of democracy. Intimidation of any kind must have no place in our electoral space,” he said.
The call came amid heightened scrutiny of security arrangements for the election, with various political and civil society groups urging security agencies to remain apolitical and protect the integrity of the voting process.
The ICC further urged INEC to ensure that all stages of the election, from accreditation and voting to collation and declaration, were conducted transparently and in accordance with the law.
The council appealed to residents of Osun State to come out peacefully and exercise their franchise, urging them to vote for candidates of their choice without fear or intimidation.
It, however, called on supporters of Governor Adeleke to back his re-election bid, saying the governor had demonstrated what it described as capacity and empathy during his first term.
The Osun governorship election is scheduled for Saturday, August 15, with Adeleke seeking another term and APC candidate Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji among the major contenders.
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