Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Osun State, Najeem Salaam, has raised alarm over the alleged exclusion of his party’s agents from polling areas during Saturday’s governorship election.
Salaam, who arrived at his polling unit and cast his ballot at about 10:39 a.m., said he received reports that ADC agents were not being recognised at several polling locations despite the party having uploaded their details ahead of the election.
According to the candidate, the alleged exclusion affected areas across 10 local government areas in the state.
He said the party had reported the matter to the relevant authorities, who were looking into the complaints.
Salaam stressed that the presence and recognition of accredited party agents were crucial to promoting transparency in the electoral process and boosting political parties’ confidence in the conduct of the election.
The ADC candidate also dismissed allegations that the party was involved in vote buying, maintaining that its campaign focused on presenting its policies and programmes to voters rather than using money to influence their decisions.
“We converse with the people, we let them know our programmes, and that is exactly what we do. Vote buying is out of it. I have never in my life bought votes,” Salaam said.
He said voters should be allowed to freely determine who would govern the state, stressing that the election should provide citizens with a fair opportunity to choose their preferred candidate.
“People will decide whom they want, and I think it should be fair enough for them to have the right to choose whom they prefer as a candidate or as the governor of the state,” he said.
Salaam, who voted at Ward 4, expressed optimism in his chances of winning the election, attributing his confidence to his faith and the support of Osun voters.
