The Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, OSSIEC, has disclosed that the local government election scheduled for February 22, 2025, in the state will exclusively take place within the officially recognized local government council areas.
Furthermore, the commission emphasized that the set date for the local government poll is inviolable, despite any modifications made to the original notice.
Addressing journalists on Friday, OSSIEC Chairman, Barrister Hashim Abioye, refuted circulating rumors suggesting that Osun was among the states rushing to conduct local government elections in response to the recent Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy. Abioye clarified that the OSSIEC had already published the election notice on February 19, 2024, rendering such speculations reckless and baseless.
Abioye explained that the commission had convened to amend the election notice and adjust the timetable and activities schedule for the upcoming local government elections in the state. Following deliberations, it was decided that elections would now be held exclusively in the constitutionally recognized Local Government Council Areas of Osun State.
He stressed that the February 22, 2025 date for the elections remains unchanged, despite the amendments to the original notice.
In response to stakeholders’ concerns, particularly the Osun State Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC), the Commission resolved to revise the timetable and activities schedule to allow political parties more time to conduct their primaries. This adjustment aims to foster more comprehensive participation in the polls. Abioye confirmed that he had communicated this decision to the IPAC leadership.
Recalling that the state chapter of IPAC initially announced a boycott of the upcoming poll on Monday, citing a lack of engagement from OSSIEC Chairman Hashim Abioye with their stakeholders, a subsequent reversal was declared on Tuesday by Osun IPAC, led by chairman Victor Akande. They revealed that the Commission and its chairman were now willing to involve IPAC and engage with their stakeholders in the planning for the local government elections.
