INEC Timetable For General Elections Worries Oyetola’s Camp

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Our Reporter

THE timetable issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the 2023 general elections has thrown Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s camp of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State of Osun into confusion, findings have revealed. 

Investigations by OSUN DEFENDER revealed that the Governor’s camp, known as IleriOluwa, is not comfortable with the deadline set by INEC for the submission of name of candidates for the National Assembly and State Assembly elections. 

INEC had in February this year adjusted timetable for the 2023 general election, following the signing of the amended Electoral Act by President Muhammadu Buhari. 

According to the timetable, political parties and candidates contesting for Presidential and National Assembly elections are to submit their nomination forms to INEC via its online portal between “9.00am on Friday 10th June 2022 to 6.00pm on Friday 17th June 2022”.

All parties and candidates contesting for governorship and State Assembly elections are also expected to submit their nomination forms via same process between “9.00am on Friday 1st July 2022 to 6.00pm on Friday 15th July 2022.”

The governorship election in the State of Osun will hold on July 16, 2022. 

According to sources in the Government House, the timetable has unsettled the Oyetola’s camp, as its leadership considered it a threat to the victory of the governor at the poll.

OSUN DEFENDER gathered that top echelon of the Oyetola’s camp who are cutting shut in the party, had concluded plan not to return some members of the National and State Assemblies on the ground that they are loyal to the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

The Oyetola’s camp had assumed that primary elections for the national and state assemblies candidates would be held after the July 16 governorship election, believing that it would be an opportunity to ‘wield the big stick on recalcitrant lawmakers’ who refused to abandon Aregbesola.

One of the sources in the Government House said: “Before the new timetable came out, the IleriOluwa leadership had concluded plan to deal with some serving lawmakers who are believed loyal to Aregbesola. They had believed that the primaries for national and state assemblies would be held after the governorship election, so that they would be free to do whatever they like after Oyetola might have won the election.

“But with the new timetable that states that all the parties and candidates for the general  elections must submit their nomination forms  between “July 1, 2022 to July 15, 2022, the IleriOluwa caucus are now confused, considering the expected backlash of their planned action.”

In a chat with OSUN DEFENDER yesterday, one of the field players of the IleriOluwa group confided in the medium that about eight state lawmakers had been penciled down to be denied return ticket to the assembly.

The Oyetola loyalist who prayed not to be named, also said one of the APC senators in the state will not be returned because of his refusal to severe his relationship with Aregbesola.  

He, however, did not disclose the names and constituencies of the state lawmakers who the Governor’s camp plan to denied return tickets.

But he said he was not sure if the IleriOluwa leadership will go ahead with the plan, going by the new timetable.

He said: “INEC seems to be frustrating the plan to deal with these lawmakers. How? Our thought was that the primaries would come after Governor Oyetola might have secured his second term by winning the July 16 election. But the primaries are coming before the governor’s election.

“The implication is that a person you denied ticket is at liberty to either work or not for the governor’s reelection. That is the reality. Even if we have one or two of people that want to work, they will not be happy and that may affect the outcome of the election. There is confusion on how to manage the national and state assemblies primaries. 

“The Governor and his political strategists are trying to maintain a delicate balance. They don’t want to return some lawmakers who are loyalists of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and they are also considering the implication of denying a grassroot politician ticket few weeks to the governorship election.”

However, OSUN DEFENDER gathered that some members of Governor Oyetola’s cabinet are interested in contesting the party’s ticket for national and state assemblies in their various constituencies. 

It was gathered that the Oyetola’s cabinet members with either national or state assembly ambition are influencing the Osun APC leadership to call for the postponement of the primaries till after Oyetola’s second term election.  

The medium learnt that the leadership of the APC in the state had written the national secretariat of the party to approach INEC for possible postponement of the national and state assemblies primaries in the State of Osun. 

According to sources, the APC leadership in a letter reportedly signed by some party executive, some lawmakers and state functionaries, told the national secretariat that conducting the primaries before July 16 governorship election will negatively affect the chance of the APC at the poll. 

The APC leadership asked the national secretariat to request for a grace to conduct the national and state assemblies primaries two weeks after the Osun governorship election.