Osun 2018: Parties panic, demand mobile phones ban at polling booths

Representatives of nearly all the political parties participating in the September 22, Osun governorship election have demanded that mobile phones be barred within voting areas to put an end to the menace of voting buying.

Niyi Owolade, representing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate; Alfred Adegoke, governorship candidate of Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) and Sunday Babawale, running mate to the governorship candidate of Providence Peoples Congress (PPC), all demanded outright ban on mobile phones within voting point.

Adegoke, while speaking accused INEC of usually conniving with the security agencies and major political parties to aid vote buying at polling centres.

He said in the last governorship election in Ekiti state, voting buying could have been prevented by the electoral body and security agencies, if they actually wanted to.

He added that many voters during Ekiti governorship election, photographed their ballot papers, which they showed to agents of some big political parties, to collect money after voting.

He advised that for the outcome of Osun election to reflect the true wish of the people, mobile phones should not be allowed.

Speaking in the same vein, Niyi Owolade and Sunday Babawale also said some parties were planning to station their agents near ballot boxes, who would be monitoring voters that have already been contacted, to ensure that after voting such voters would, without drawing attention of security agents, reveal his or her allot papers for confirmation.

Responding, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun, Segun Agbaje, said before Osun election, the Commission would make definite pronouncement on the use of phone around voting area.

He promised to inform INEC headquarters about the resolution of parties that use of mobile phones should not be allowed around voting area and that more security personnel should be deployed to voting area to frustrate any attempt to buy or sell votes.

Agbaje, who restated the preparedness of the commission to conduct a peaceful and generally acceptable poll, said on the election day, voting would commence by 8am and end by 2pm, with a caveat that all voters on queue by 2pm would still be allowed to vote.

He urged parties to impress the need to be peaceful on their members, adding that all resolutions arrived at the meeting would be forwarded to the head office of the commission for further actions.