BARELY 25 days to the conduct of September 22 gubernatorial poll in Osun, Governor Rauf Aregbesola has admonished eligible voters not to cast their votes for reckless candidates and political parties, with a view to checkmate bad governance and policies, capable of rubbishing the gains recorded by the state.
He maintained that no effort must be spared in protecting the collective interest of the state as indigenes prepare to elect another governor, who would steer the ship of governance for four years.
Aregbesola gave the advice in Ibadan while declaring open a 3-day workshop organised for stakeholders on the conduct of peaceful gubernatorial elections in Osun by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in conjunction with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He said it was imperative said for the spate of development in the state to continue by electing a responsible person to take over from him, just as he underscored the need to create enabling environment for the peaceful conduct of the governorship election.
At the workshop, which had in attendance traditional rulers, religious leaders, political leaders, security organisations, civil society organisations as participants, Aregbesola emphasized that traditional rulers have a critical role to play in ensuring that elections are peaceful in their various domains.
Aregbesola averred that “I want to say that traditional rulers have a stake in good governance in their various domains, and maintaining the security. When these two things are in place, it automatically translates to peace and development. For instance, before the advent of our administration, people used to live in fear, because Osun was so insecure that people sleep with one eye closed.
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He continued, “that is why it is very important that candidates and parties notorious for bad governance and retrogression should not be given a chance to rule the state again. Traditional rulers and civil society organisations have a significant role to play at ensuring that we have a peaceful election, we must all do away with things that negate the principles of free and fair elections if we want to move forward as a people.”
In his address, the representative of the country director of UNDP, Professor Mathew Alao said the peaceful conduct of the September 22 governorship election was very important because it would serve as an indicator of what will be expected in the general elections in 2019.
According to him, “The UNDP is determined to ensure a peaceful election in Osun for several reasons. First and foremost, peaceful elections promote peaceful co-existence and build accountable institutions for the society. The 2019 general election is also around the corner and whatever happens in Osun on September 22 will have a great impact in the general election, so we want to ensure that we get everything right in Osun”.
and then