Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has cast his vote in the ongoing governorship election, alleging that some police personnel are tear-gassing voters in parts of the state to scare them away from polling units.
Adeleke arrived at his polling unit, Unit 009, Ward 02, Agbogunde Sagba, in Ede North, at about 8:30 a.m. and joined other voters to exercise his franchise.
Shortly after voting, the governor accused the All Progressives Congress of attempting to rig the election, alleging that some police personnel were aiding the party instead of maintaining neutrality.
Adeleke said he had received information about a police officer allegedly deployed from Port Harcourt to disrupt the election in Ede.
“I have received reports on authority information, that there is one police officer that was deployed to come and do a hatchet job in Osun from Port Harcourt. They call his nickname London. He is here in Ede hiding. His own job is to come and destroy Ede, and then scare people, shooting so that they will not vote,” he said.
The governor called on the Inspector-General of Police and other security agencies to investigate the allegation and ensure that security personnel remained neutral throughout the election.
He also alleged that the APC had printed fake ballot papers as part of an attempt to manipulate the election.
Adeleke further claimed that he received reports of police personnel tear-gassing voters in Modakeke and Obaku, allegedly to force them away from polling units.
“Right now, as I’m voting right now, I just received a call in Modakeke and Obaku that police is aiding them to teargas them so that people can run away, and people are resolute. They just want to perform their civic duty. Let the security agencies please be neutral and watch it,” he said.
Despite the allegations, Adeleke expressed confidence in his chances of winning the election, saying, “I have God on my side, and I have my people on my side. I will win this.”
Meanwhile, voters began arriving at polling units across the state as early as 7:20 a.m., including at Unit 7, Oke-Oja in Osogbo, where INEC officials prepared for the commencement of voting.
Two queues were provided at the polling unit, with one designated for elderly voters and the other for younger voters.
