Osun ADC Governorship Candidate Salaam Says Party Agents Denied Tags Across 10 LGAs | Sahara Reporters

Salaam said the development could affect the ability of the party’s agents to properly monitor the counting and collation of votes at polling units.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Osun, Dr Najeem Salaam, has raised concerns over the alleged denial of tags to the party’s polling agents across 10 local government areas of the state.

Salaam said the development could affect the ability of the party’s agents to properly monitor the counting and collation of votes at polling units.

The ADC candidate spoke to journalists on Saturday while assessing the conduct of the election, saying the party had uploaded the names of its agents on the Independent National Electoral Commission platform but was surprised that some were not issued identification tags.

“The report of my agent not being recognised in most of the wards across the state is worrisome and disturbing,” Salaam said.

He added, “Despite the fact that we uploaded all the names of ADC agents, especially in Nijibu here, all the agents in Ward 5 for ADC were not given tags. And it happened in 10 local governments across the state like this.”

According to him, the matter had already been reported to the relevant authorities, who he said were looking into the complaint.

Salaam stressed that the presence and proper identification of party agents were crucial during the counting of votes.

“When the votes are being counted, it will be necessary for my agent to be recognised at the polling unit,” he said.

He warned that if the agents remained without identification tags throughout the process, questions could be raised about the credibility of the election.

“If at the end of the day, we do not have this, then the process is very questionable,” the candidate said, adding that he would make a further statement after the conclusion of the election.

Despite the complaint, Salaam said the voting process had so far been peaceful in his area and expressed hope that the situation would remain calm until the end of the exercise.

Asked whether he was confident of victory, the ADC candidate said he believed the election would be conducted fairly.

“I trust my God that I’m going to win the election,” he said.

Salaam also denied allegations that his party was involved in vote buying, saying the ADC was campaigning on its programmes and manifesto rather than inducing voters.

“Vote buying is out of it. I have never in my life bought votes,” he said.

He argued that voters should be allowed to freely choose their preferred candidates without intimidation or inducement.

According to him, vote buying undermines democracy because citizens should be able to make electoral choices based on the programmes and competence of candidates.

“Democracy is supposed to give room for people to choose their representative freely without intimidation, harassment or inducement,” he said.

Salaam also criticised the alleged circulation of large sums of money during elections, describing it as “worrisome and disturbing” and a threat to democratic development.

He said his administration, if elected, would govern all residents of Osun State irrespective of whether they voted for him.

“I’m to govern the whole state. There won’t be a difference between who votes and who does not vote,” he said.

The ADC candidate’s complaint comes amid heightened scrutiny of the conduct of the Osun governorship election, with political parties and civil society groups raising concerns about accreditation, security, voting, vote buying and the management of election materials.

Salaam said the ADC would continue to monitor the process and assess the handling of its complaint before making further pronouncements on the overall credibility of the election.