By Ayomide Otitoju
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has cast his vote in the ongoing governorship election, alleging that some police personnel were tear-gassing voters in parts of the state to discourage them from voting.
Adeleke arrived at his polling unit, Unit 009, Ward 02, Agbogunde Sagba, in Ede North, at about 8:30 a.m. and joined other voters to exercise their franchise.
Shortly after voting, the governor accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of attempting to rig the election and alleged that some police officers were aiding the party instead of maintaining neutrality.
Adeleke claimed he had received information about a police officer allegedly deployed from Port Harcourt to disrupt the election in Ede. He identified the officer only by the nickname “London” and called on the Inspector-General of Police and other security agencies to intervene.
“I have received reports on authority information, that there is one police officer that was deployed to come and do a hatchet job in Osun from Port Harcourt. They call his nickname London,” Adeleke said.
He also alleged that the APC had printed fake ballot papers as part of an attempt to manipulate the election.
The governor further claimed that he received reports of police personnel allegedly tear-gassing voters in Modakeke and Obaku, urging security agencies to remain neutral.
“The police are aiding the APC to teargas people so that they know they will not vote,” he alleged.
The allegations have not been independently verified.
Meanwhile, Adeleke and his wife experienced delays while attempting to cast their ballots after the Biometric Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) malfunctioned at the polling unit.
Election officials initially tested the device, but it reportedly failed to capture facial biometrics. Several attempts were made before the system eventually captured Adeleke’s details.
The delay caused some restlessness among his supporters, who urged officials to resolve the problem.
Further difficulties were encountered when the ink pad provided for thumb-printing the ballot paper was found to be dry. A second ink pad also failed, while a third was eventually provided and worked, allowing Adeleke to complete the voting process.
