Oyo LG Poll: APC Threatens To Withdraw Candidates If BVAS Not Used

As the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) prepares for the April 27, 2024 Local Government election across the 33 LG Councils in the state, the All Progressives Congress, (APC), on Sunday threatened to withdraw its candidates should the electoral body fail to use Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

The APC made the threat in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Wasiu Olawale Sadare, where it expressed concerns over what it described as “game of deceit being played by OYSIEC”.

The statement alleged that the APC had observed that the chairman of the electoral commission, Are Isiaka Olagunju (SAN), may not be able to be fair to all parties contesting the election, stressing that it would not be a party to any sham or charade.

“We have watched with dismay the lip service being paid, by OYSIEC, to the issue of BVAS required for the smooth conduct of the poll.

“The Commission is apparently under pressure to jettison the usage of BVAS because the ruling PDP is averse to it even as the powers-that-be in the state are prepared to compromise the April poll in their bid to ensure all the candidates of the PDP win at all cost.

“As a matter of fact, we have observed that the Chairman of OYSIEC might not be able to be fair to all parties as he is wont to do for obvious reasons.

“The fact that the PDP elements are averse to BVAS is responsible for the failure of OYSIEC to announce to the world that the machines would be used for the election.

“At this juncture, we are stating it categorically that Oyo APC would not be a party to any sham or charade, and should the election body fail to guarantee the usage of BVAS for the April poll, they should count us out,” the statement said.