September 7, 2021
The Osun Independent National Electoral Commission has stated that the next council elections in Osun State will be presidential system as against the parliamentary system had in 2017.
Chairman of the Commission, Otunba Olusegun Oladitan stated this in Osogbo on Tuesday, September 6, 2021, during the commencement 3-day retreat for management staff of the Commission.
The Chairman said the State Assembly has enacted laws to accommodate the change and the commission shall start working on existing legislations.
“Before the local government administration in the State was parliamentary system. But before the inauguration of this commission last year, the State Assembly has amended that provision of the legislation. You cannot blame the them (Assembly members), since the whole States in the country are operating presidential and Osun mist not be an aberration.
“So the coming elections will be presidential and we shall be having two ballot papers as against one had in 2017.”
When asked when the election will hold, Oladitan said, “as you can see we have started the process with this retreat. Election is a series of activities and the Commission has started working on that. The law says the Commission shall give 90-day notice. As soon as I do that, the process has begun.
Speaking on the importance of the retreat, the election umpire said the 3-day retreat is organized for the Commission members and the Management Staff to have a robust service delivery and promote efficiency in OSIEC. He added that the retreat is designed to awaken the Commission Members and the Management Staff to their responsibility and ginger them to effectively perform their roles at the forthcoming Local Government Elections in the State. It could also be described as a panacea to have an efficient and effective Election Management Body (EMB)
“The focus of OSIEC is to have a free, fair and credible Local Government Election in the State of Osun. And this could only be achieved where the Commission Members, Management Staff and other categories of Staff are fully aware of their responsibility.”
