Protesters today besiged Independent National electoral commission in Osogbo to reject what they described as technical rigging and intimidation of INEC staff through unnecessary redeployment from Osun state to another state
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, The Spokesperson of Coalition of Concern Nigerian Citizens in Osun State Mr Rauf Sodiq said the aim of the protest is to demand a free ,fair and credible Polls from the New REC as the group insisted that transfor of former REC was politically motivated.
The Protesters who carried placads with the inscriptions like " No one will intimidate you on Election Day " , " INEC we say no to technical rigging " , " Osun State will not accept Backdoor rigging" among others, walked from The Ataoja Bridge down to the state INEC headquarters in Osogbo with resolve that the forthcoming election must be credible and free of manipulation.
They maintained that the election must be a test of popularity by the leading contestants rather than a backdoor victory which would not be acceptable to the generality of people of Osun State.
Speaking, the Head of Voters’ Education and Publicity, Mr Rufus Ariyo and the Head of the Legal Department, Mr Niyi Fayanju who addressed the Protesters on behalf of the New REC , Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola assured the protesters of the readiness of the commission to conduct free and fair elections in the state
They said upon the Resumption of the new REC, she had emphasized to the members of Staff that all hands must be on deck to ensure a credible poll that would be acceptable to all.
The duo noted that the transfer of the former REC, Dr. Mutiu Agboke has nothing to do with any plan to rig but an administrative procedure which naturally occurs in Organizations.
It would be recalled that there have been series of protests since the transfer of former Osun Rec as civil societies groups claimed it suspected foul play in the sudden transfer process.
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