Governorship Election In Oyo State: INEC Ready, Journalists Warned

Security officials  have threatened to arrest and prosecute unaccredited journalists covering the governorship election in Oyo state, south west of Nigeria.

Head, Security Committee for 2011 Election in Oyo State, Brigadier General Ace Ebenebe at the stakeholders meeting held at INEC headquarters, Ibadan said, “I was lenient with you pressmen during the last election but I will not be lenient with you this time around. If there is a reason for me to arrest you, I will. You have given us a job to do and how we will do it is nobody’s business”.
General Ebenebe further stated that he would clamp down on unaccredited journalists, stressing that he would not accept their work  ID to monitor the election.
However,journalists protested that their  non accreditation was the fault of INEC, which  claimed that accreditation materials were not enough.
Commenting on the development, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police in charge of election, Mr. Argungu Hashim said that no one is above the law pointing out that as long as any journalist violates Section 3 of the Electoral Act, he would be prosecuted.
Argungu also blamed  the three reporters of the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation that escaped death in Ogbomosho during the presidential election noting that they ought not to have come to Oyo State to monitor election.“How can a person that was accredited in Oshogbo come to Ogbomosho or Oyo State to monitor election? It is not proper and that was why those people were attacked in Ogbomosho because they are not from Oyo State”.
Argungu  appealed to  INEC to make provision for the accreditation of the journalists that have not been accredited to cover the election.
Earlier, the Oyo State Resident Commissioner of INEC, Mr. Ayo Adakeja lamented his posting to Oyo State during the 2011 election saying, “I regretted that I was posted to Yorubaland for the 2011 election. I have received over three hundred text messages cursing me and cursing my children. What for? I received one saying that if l announce the candidate that did not win as the winner of the governorship election, my children will die. Is it me that will announce result? Have I announced any result of election? Why are we doing this to ourselves? It is not fair”, Adakeja said.
In his earlier remark, Adakeja disclosed that materials for governorship election have been received and distributed to all the local government stressing that the commission is ready for the governorship election.
He urged anyone that is aggrieved at the end of the election to seek redress through constitutional means adding that the commission has established Dispute Resolution Committee to address election matter in addendum to Election petition tribunal. He also disclosed that 15 political parties will participate in the governorship election.

He warned politicians to desist from distributing money at the polling units as well as campaigning while the election is on-going. “Anyone caught doing this will be seriously dealt with and handed over to the police for prosecution. You don’t induce voters or talk to them during election because they are entitle to exercise their discretion while the election lasted”, Adakeja said.Also, while the Chairman of Action Alliance (AA), Mr. Tunde Anifowose sought to know whether his party is among those that will contest governorship election because they filed a governorship candidate, the REC said that he was not aware. But the name of AA and its candidate is omitted in the list purportedly sent from INEC headquarters.

By Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan