Osun: We are working to achieve violence free election in Ijesa land – Group 

Few days to the Osun 2022 gubernatorial election, residents and electorates in Ijesa axis of the State have been assured that a violence free election is possible.

Giving this assurance during a radio interview programme on Sunday, Babatunde Aguntasolo, the president of Omo Owa Ekun, an Ilesa-based peace advocacy group revealed that several groups within the axis had been working round the clock to ensure a violence free election in Ijesa land.

Aguntasolo, who called on all stakeholders to desist from recruiting the youths as political thugs to perpetrate fear and destruction, noted that these young persons can be better empowered as agents of change rather than building them to cause chaos in the land.

While urging the youths to come out en-masse to participate in the Osun gubernatorial election, he added that election remained the legitimate way of effecting the kind of change desired in the country.

He also used the medium to speak against cultism and vote buying.

In the run-up to the Osun gubernatorial election, Ilesa and surrounding towns, which makes up Ijesa land have been experiencing pockets of violence.

Political watchers have ascribed the violence to a battle between the two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Both parties have had cause to accuse each other of orchestrating violence against the other.

In June, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC) collection centre in Ilesa West Local Government was suddenly violently attacked by political thugs, a development which forced the exercise to be postponed till the next day.

Also, the campaign council of Adegboyega Oyetola, the APC gubernatorial candidate alleged that the governor during a campaign tour of Ilesa was violently attacked by thugs hired by the PDP, an allegation which the PDP denied.

Also, the PDP alleged that its members in Ijebu-Jesa were being harassed and arrested in the dead of the night by armed policemen allegedly led by Oluremi Omowaiye, the State Commissioner for Works.

These developments, News correspondent also reported, compelled the Owa Obokun, Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran to call the political leaders in Ijesa land to a roundtable.

At the meeting, the Oba Aromalaran warmed that he will not condone the shedding of blood and the co-opting of the youths to perpetrate mayhem in the land again.

The monarch also warned that he was ready to lay a curse to achieve this purpose.