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Osun Election: Obanikoro Defends Heavy Presence Of Military

The Minister of State for Defence, Mr Musiliu Obanikoro, says the heavy presence of the military in Osun State deployed for the governorship election is … Continue reading Osun Election: Obanikoro Defends Heavy Presence Of Military


Osun_Election_Police-BigThe Minister of State for Defence, Mr Musiliu Obanikoro, says the heavy presence of the military in Osun State deployed for the governorship election is necessary to avoid chaos even as he debunks the claim of his presence in Osun.

While addressing journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Saturday, Mr Obanikoro reiterated that President Goodluck Jonathan remained committed to ensuring that all elections in Nigeria were free, fair and rancour free.

He said that the essence of having the security personnel was to ensure that the outcome of the Osun governorship election equalled previous elections in Edo and Ekiti States and to guard against sharp practices.

The Minister of State for Defence denied being a part of the ongoing election in Osun even as he accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of invading Oshogbo, the Osun State capital, with thugs to intimidate members of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Mr Obanikoro stressed that the security agents would do their best to ensure no one was denied the right to vote, insisting that every vote must count.

The Minister also appealed to residents of Osun to remain calm and vigilant during and after elections.Osun_Election_2014_2

The APC, the party of the incumbent governor, Rauf Aregbesola, who is also seeking a second term in office, had gone to court to contest the deployment of the huge security personnel in the state ahead of the election, insisting that their presence would create an artificial and apprehensive situation that would not favour the electorates.

But President Jonathan, at a rally of the PDP held to support the candidate of the party vying for the position of the governor, said that the security personnel were deployed to guard against possible snatching of ballot boxes.

Voting has been concluded in the Saturday’s election and counting has started.

 

Click here to view more photos from the different voting centres in Osun.