Ogun electoral commission clears 89 for polls

The Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) has so far cleared 89 chairmanship candidates from 28 political parties to contest the July 21 local government elections in the state.

Mr Mutiu Agboke, the Chairman, OGSIEC Screening Committee, who disclosed this to journalists in Abeokuta on Monday, expressed concern over the quality of candidates presented by most of the political parties.

“How could someone intending to direct the affairs of a local government not able to define what democracy is all about?’’ he asked.

He said that nine chairmanship candidates risked disqualification due to some anomalies detected in their submissions to the commission.

The commissioner said that five chairmanship candidates were not cleared due to their failure to meet the age requirement and presentation of forged certificates.

He added that three other chairmanship candidates failed to show up for screening while one declined interest in the race.

Agboke said those who tendered fake school certificates and documents had confessed before the screening committee.

He said the screening of councilors was ongoing, adding that the names of those that would scale through the exercise would be made public as soon as it was completed.

Agboke, who doubles as Commissioner III of the commission, disclosed that 34 parties collected biodata forms (ECF 01 and ECF 02) from the electoral body.

He said that 28 of the political parties returned the forms but that not all the candidates showed up for the screening.

Agboke restated the commission’s commitment to provide a level-playing field for all the candidates.

He, however, warned that OGSIEC would not tolerate any form of irregularities from any party. (NAN)