BEVERLY HILLS, August 11, (THEWILL) – A civil society group, the Centre for the Vulnerable and the Underprivileged, (CENTREP), has hailed the re-election of Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State.
The group also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conducting a peaceful, free, fair and credible governorship election in the State ahead of the 2015 general polls.
In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Oghenejabor Ikimi, on Sunday, CENTREP congratulated all the key actors in the election for its peaceful and successful conduct.
“We look forward for a repeat performance come 2015. However, we call for a reduction in the number of security agents during the conduct of future elections for a more relaxed and civil exercise devoid of any form of militarisation in the interest of our fledgling democracy.
“Nevertheless, we condemn in very strong terms the arrest and detention of Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the National Publicity Secretary and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and other chieftains of the party by security agents in Osun State during the election,” the statement said.
According to the group, the excuses adduced by security agent that Mohammed and others arrested were not registered voters in Osun State and as such had no business whatsoever entering the State during the exercise, was a “lame duck as the aforesaid acts of the security agents were pure aggression against members of opposition political party.”
The group said; “we are not oblivious of the fact that chieftains of other political parties who were not registered voters in Osun State were in the State during the above exercise without any form of molestation from security agents.
“In the light of the above lopsided bias, we call on our politicians to end all forms of militarised democracy being imported by political marauders and buccaneers into our polity.”
The group however called on security agencies nationwide not to portray themselves as the “thuggery arm of the ruling party.”
