Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has called on the people of Osun State not to allow politics to divide them.
Oba Ogunwusi who spoke on Tuesday when he received the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, in his palace, admitted that there is tension in Osun State because of the forthcoming governorship in the state.
“Political tension in Osun is very unbearable for us. We do not want to rock the boat. We want to election to be peaceful,” he said.
The royal father however stated that
Osun State is bigger than all the politicians, and disclosed that all traditional rulers in the state have resolved not to fold their arms and allow politicians destroy the state.
“We traditional rulers, we should live above politics. We will not abandon Osun State to politicians.
“The good, the bad and the ugly belong to us. Both politicians from these two sides, the opposition side and the one in the office right now, we should embrace them and tell them the truth all the time,” the Ooni stated.
He called on the INEC Chairman to be just, fair and right in everything he does, adding, “We want elections to come very freely and very fairly and very justly.”
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Amupitan had told the traditional ruler that they were in the state to formally inform him pf the August 15 Osun governorship election.
He described the Osun election as
the most consequential off cycle election in Nigeria, because it will be followed by the 2027 general election.
“We look at the Osun election as a mock election,” he said, but expressed concerns at the political tension pervading electioneering in the last five months.
According to him, election is successful if it is peaceful, transparent and if the result is collated transparently and in good time.
Prof. Amupitan appealed to the Oba to appealed to the politicians and political actors, to ensure that the August 15 Osun governorship is peaceful, and is based on ideology and ideas and rancor-free
“We appeal to our royal fathers, as we used to do it in the ancient days, even if you are going to use town-criers, to cry to our people that the blood of innocent one person is not worth a governorship election.
“Nobody should be killed or should be threatened or should be embarrassed just because of election that will take place on a particular day. That day will come, and it is very close, and it will go.”
