The Oyo chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has withdrawn from the forthcoming local government elections over allegations that the electoral umpire often compromise during the poll.
It alleged that previous council polls conducted by the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) were fraudulent and never reflected outcome of the election.
The party’s state general secretary, Fatai Ojetunde, who disclosed this in an interview in Ibadan on Sunday, stated that the party had participated in previous elections without seeing tangible outcomes.
He particularly cited the 2019 election in Ibarapa, a strong base for the party, where, according to him, results were yet to be declared.
He also said that the party had approached the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) in preparation for the 2024 local government elections and was assured that the exercise would be free and fair.
“They promised us heaven and earth that the elections would be fair and acceptable. At the end of it, the winner takes it all was what they did,” he added.
According to him, the experience led the Labour Party to agree not to participate in the forthcoming exercise.
“Some people sold their property because of the election in time past, and then it turned out that the winner takes it; if you are not a member of the ruling party in the state,” Ojetunde said.
He added that the party could only reconsider its position if there were a compelling reason to do so.
“If you are not a member of APM at this time, I am afraid you can’t get anything out of this election.
“We have concluded within the Labour Party not to participate, except we see reason later why we should change what we have agreed on,” he said.
On preparations for the forthcoming general elections, Ojetunde said the party had commenced activities, including house-to-house sensitisation.
He said that the party was also holding online meetings with its candidates for the Senate and House of Representatives in Oyo State as part of preparations for the elections.
“Presently, we are having a series of online meetings with all our candidates from Senate to House of Rep in Oyo State in preparation for the general elections,” he said.
Ojetunde said that the candidates had also been directed to submit their campaign budgets and strategise their campaigns to become more pronounced as the elections approach.
He further said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) list contained the names of the party’s candidates for the Senate and House of Representatives.
Ojetunde, however, said that some corrections were being made to the names of some candidates contesting House of Assembly seats.
According to him, some names were either misspelt or omitted from the list, adding that the party had forwarded the corrections through its national headquarters to INEC in Abuja.
He expressed optimism that the corrections would be reflected when INEC releases an updated list, noting that similar errors affected candidates of other political parties.
Ojetunde also said that Oyo was the only state in the South-West where the Labour Party had more candidates contesting in the forthcoming elections within the party.