APC Rejects Abioye As OSIEC Chairman, Demands Reversal Of Appointment

The Osun State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, has rejected the appointment of Hashim Abioye as the Chairman of Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, OSIEC.

Osun Defender had reported that the state Deputy Governor, Prince Kola Adewusi, had earlier inaugurated the chairmen and members of the state’s statutory commissions after the successful screening and confirmation of the nominees by the state House of Assembly.

The commissions whose chairmen and members took oath of office include; the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, Osun State Judicial Service Commission, Osun State Civil Service Commission, and Osun State House of Assembly Service Commission.

Commenting on the development, the Osun APC chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement in Osogbo on Monday, demanded the reversal of the appointment.

He said Abioye was a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state and before his appointment, he was Governor Adeleke’s Special Adviser on Legal Matters.

Lawal explained that OSIEC is an independent body which must headed by a non-partisan entity whose activities would not be subjected to controversial political caprices and undertones but the appointment of Hashim would not guarantee such

The statement reads partly: “With the appointment of one of the Adeleke appointees as the OSIEC chairman, there is nothing that will be independent in the activities of the commission except its nomenclature.

“The appointment of Abioye as the OSIEC chairman pointed to the fact that those who advise Adeleke have so many questions to answer on political propriety, morality and fair play.

“The appointment of Adeleke’s SA as the chairman of the OSIEC has bastardized the statutory purpose of the commission.

“It is necessary for Adeleke to allow the OSIEC to act its name as what is now transpiring in the commission is an aberration which is visibly antithetical to genuine constitutional government.

“The sensitivity of the expected functions of the OSIEC demands that it is headed by a non-partisan entity whose activities would not be subjected to controversial political caprices and undertones.

“With the appointment of one of the Adeleke’s lap dogs as the chairman of the OSIEC, it’s bye-bye to democracy at the local government level in