The wife of Osun State Governor, Ngozi Adeleke, has sought to reassure voters over the conduct of Saturday’s governorship election, where she declared that there was no intimidation, fighting, or rancour at her polling unit after casting her ballot.
Ngozi spoke shortly after voting, as residents across the state headed to polling stations to choose the governor for the next four years.
“As you can see, there’s no intimidation of any kind,” she told reporters at the polling location.
The governor’s wife said the atmosphere around her voting point was calm. She dismissed fears that voters were being harassed or prevented from exercising their franchise.
“I’m saying it authoritatively to every Osun indigene that there’s peace, everything is going on peacefully. There’s no rancour, there’s no fight. There’s no intimidation of any kind,” she said.
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She consequently called on eligible voters who had yet to cast their ballots to leave their homes and proceed to their designated polling units.
“Please, wherever you are, as long as you’re an electorate, please leave your house. Go to your polling unit and vote. That’s your civic right,” she said.
She made the remarks amidst heightened security concerns surrounding the election, with security personnel deployed across Osun ahead of the poll.
Political parties and civil society groups had also called for a peaceful contest, as concerns about possible intimidation and other forms of electoral malpractice continue to gain momentum.
The governor himself had earlier voted at Ward 02, Polling Unit 009, Abogunde Compound, in Ede North Local Government Area, where he is seeking another term on the Accord Party platform.
Adeleke is among the candidates seeking the mandate of the electorate in the election being conducted across the state’s 30 local government areas.
The voting exercise began on Saturday with security personnel stationed in several locations as residents arrived at polling units to participate in the democratic process.
Ngozi’s account presented a calm picture of the exercise at her polling location and encouraged eligible residents to participate rather than stay away because of fears about the conduct of the poll.
Her appeal also placed emphasis on voting as a civic obligation, rather than just a political choice, at a time when turnout and security had become key issues in the election.
The final assessment of the exercise, however, will depend on reports from polling units across the state and the eventual handling of votes, collation, and declaration of results by the electoral authorities.
