No fewer than 15 political parties will participate in the Osun State governorship election slated for today, while 1,955,657 registered voters will decide the fate of the candidates.

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the gubernatorial election would take place in 332 registration areas across the 30 Local Government Areas of Osun State.

Though 15 political parties would be participating in the election, the two contenders are the candidates of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Governor Gboyega Oyetola, and the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Ademola Adeleke.

This would be the second time the two candidates would be meeting.

Both Oyetola and Adeleke contested for the Osun governorship seat in 2018, which Oyetola won after a rerun.

After the rerun election which took place in seven units, Oyetola won seven, while Adeleke won one.

At the end of the rerun, Oyetola polled 255,505 votes while the PDP candidate scored a total of 255,023 votes.

Although Adeleke had led Oyetola with 353 votes at the end of the first round of ballots, after the rerun, Oyetola won with 482 votes.

However, there is a heavy security presence in Osogbo, Osun State capital as the state made final preparations for today’s governorship election.

The operatives of the Nigerian Police Force were seen in strategic places, while military Armoured Personnel Carriers were also seen patrolling around the town.

The personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were also seen at strategic places.

Officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) were also seen at strategic places controlling the influx of vehicles in and out of the town on Friday, while the INEC office located along Gbongan/Osogbo Road was heavily manned by security operatives.

The Star had reported that the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba, said 21,000 police officers would be deployed for the governorship election.

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Baba made this known in Osogbo at the INEC Osun 2022 Governorship Election Stakeholders’ Meeting on Tuesday.

The IGP, however, said the deployment was not to intimidate residents but to prevent miscreants from highjacking or disrupting the election process.

Similarly, the police had also announced restrictions of both vehicular and human movements during the election.

The Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Osun governorship election, Mr Johnson Kokumo, made this known at the end of police interactive session with ‘Accredited Election Observer Groups’, NGOs and the media, ahead of the election.

He said human and vehicular movements would be restricted from midnight of Saturday till 6.00 p.m on the same date but essential workers and accredited election observers and media would be allowed to operate.

Also, the NSCDC had deployed 11,226 personnel to provide security for the election.

This was contained in a statement by NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Olusola Odumosu.

The FRSC had also said it deployed 1,500 personnel, 35 vehicles, and two trucks and ambulances to clear road obstructions, carry out rescue operations in case of emergencies, and maintain orderliness in polling booths.

The Star