The National Association of Seadogs, Pyrates Confraternity, has demanded a peaceful Osun State governorship election from President Bola Tinubu, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC), security agencies and the political parties.

The group, in a statement entitled ‘’The Votes Must Count in Osun Governorship Election’’

issued by the NAS Cap’n, Dr Charles Meribole, urged President Tinubu to resist the temptation to rig Saturday’s governorship election for his political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

It implored President Tinubu to rise above political considerations as a true statesman by providing a level playing field for the electorate to exercise their franchise freely without any form of intimidation and harassment.

‘’We call on President Bola Tinubu to act as a true Commander-in- Chief by ensuring a level playing field for all the governorship candidates in Saturday’s governorship election. He bears the greatest responsibility to ensure the protection of the electorate in Osun and dismantle every notion of the deployment of ‘’Federal Might’’ to suppress the will of the people.’’

Dr Meribole, while criticising the level of pre-election violence, added that ‘’the resort to weaponisation of state institutions, harassment of political opponents, intimidation and inducement of the electorate undermines democracy and breeds anarchy.’’

According to the group, democracy cannot thrive under the shadow of weaponised institutions and voter inducement but can only survive when the electorate are allowed to freely exercise their franchise.

Meribole called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use the Osun governorship election to restore Nigerian’s confidence in the ability of the electoral commission to conduct credible elections.

‘’INEC cannot afford to fumble. To honour its commitment to the electorate in Osun, INEC must execute every stage of the process flawlessly, from logistical deployment of materials to the unquestionable conduct and integrity of its officials and the final declaration of results. The Electoral Commission must demonstrate its independence and impartiality by ensuring that every vote cast at the polling units is accurately recorded and protected. It must take necessary steps to prevent past irregularities such as the alteration of results, suspicious disappearance of electoral officers and result sheets,’’ it stated.

Furthermore, he implored the security agencies to be apolitical and ensure the state is not militarised, which can scare voters away.

‘’Security agencies owe their allegiance to Nigeria’s Constitution and not to any politician, political party or narrow interest. Every troublemaker, no matter how highly placed, must be held accountable.’’

Meribole, who enjoined political actors to be accountable for their followers by prioritising peace over personal ambition, also admonished the electorate to conduct themselves peacefully and eschew violence during and after the election.

‘’Osun State has seen enough bloodshed. The cycle of election-related violence must end. The people deserve a free and fair process, and their votes must count.”

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