Human Rights Activist, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman has warned Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) led by Professor Mahmood Yakubu not to set the peaceful Osun State on fire with actions and inactions of its officials.
Following the recent controversy surrounding Tribunal Judgement on July 16th, 2022 Osun State Guber election with the statement on over voting credited to State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Mutiu Olalekan Agboke and the subsequent debunking of the statement by the INEC.
He pointed out that the problem created by INEC in Osun with the provision of two different results from Bimordal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) given to the two major contending political parties of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressive Congress (APC) in the said election still living with it.
Added that, although, the electoral body had claimed that the BVAS result given to the candidate of APC Gboyega Oyetola weren’t completed before it was released to his lawyers and the body failed to withdraw the uncompleted BVAS report given before it was tendered as “original BVAS report” at the sitting of 2022 Osun State Election Petition Tribunal in Osogbo, the State capital.
Comrade Sulaiman, who is the Executive Chairman, Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) noted that inconsistencies on the part of the electoral umpire in releasing the fake Certified True Copy (CTC) of BVAS result to the APC, which relied upon by Tribunal that lead to the miscarriage of justice by the acclaimed majority judgement of the Election Petition Tribunal, indicating that with the way and manner the Tribunal gave out its judgement with no majority and no minority judgement on the petition before it.
While advised that the Commission should approach the Appellate Court on the controversial Osun Tribunal Judgement, without wasting much of its time to inform the Appeal Court that the Tribunal gave its judgement on the fake BVAS result given to the APC by fifth columnist officials of the Commission and by extension, pleading with the Appellate Court to right the wrong done to the winner of the said Guber election, Governor Ademola Adeleke by the Tribunal.
According to his statement which was made available to newsmen on Sunday, he maintained that approaching the Appellate Court on the subject matter by the electoral body within the time frame of the law, was very important in order to save the Commission on credibility of BVAS device for the conduct of the forthcoming general election slated to hold on February 25th, 2023 and March 11th, 2023.
Comrade Sulaimon further raised concerns on the different comments credited to the both former and current officials of the Commission in the media on the credibility of the BVAS machine in respect of the Osun State Governorship election, urging INEC Chairman, Professor Yakubu to caution its officials on the subject matter in order not to set Osun State nay Nigeria on fire ahead of 2023 general election.
Speaking on the recent debunked statement credited to Osun REC, Dr. Agboke on BVAS reports tendered by Osun APC Governorship candidate, Mr. Oyetola, before the Tribunal, the Activist disclosed that the current Osun REC was doing the bidding of the Oyetola because he (Agboke) was the nominee of Senator Ibikunle Amosun in his first term of office and now nominee of the National Leader of APC, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun for second term of office in the Commission.
He described the action of the Commission on the subject matter as inconsequential, bias, dishonest and doubtful political neutrality and if not checked, might set the country on fire with political intergrenum, adding that the official of the Commission that released the BVAS result to former Governor Oyetola had breached the oath of neutrality engendered in the Commission’s guidelines.
Sulaiman who doubles as the Convener, Save Lagos Group (SLG), therefore, enjoined the Commission to ensure punitive measure for the officials who released controversial reports that lead to the infractions in the reports of BVAS device before the Tribunal, because the reports had caused serious stigma for electoral body which makes the Nigerians to be doubting its integrity in conduct of the forthcoming 2023 general election.