The governorship candidate of Social Democratic Party in Osun State, Olusegun Akinwusi, has stated that he will immediately put in place arrangements to conduct local government election in the state if voted as governor in the August 9 poll.
The SDP candidate during an interactive session with Concerned Ijesa Forum, who paid him a visit in Osogbo, the state capital, on Wednesday, said the appointment of Caretaker Committees by governors to head the third tiers of government “is anti-democratic” and against the spirit of the nation’s constitution.
Akinwusi regretted that the incumbent administration of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has failed to conduct local government election since 2010, describing this as unfair to the people at the grass root who deserved democratic representation at the local government levels.
He said: “This is a bad precedence.
“This is democracy and not a military regime.
“We have not suspended our constitution, which stipulates that each local government area be administered by a local government council consisting of a chairman who is the chief executive and other elected members who are referred to as councillors.
“Our administration will follow the law and we will restore full functions of local governments to the elected representatives of the people.
“We won’t foist unelected caretaker committees on the people.”
The former Head of Service noted that governors who appointed caretakers committees for local governments were not only denying the people the right of choice but “are enemies of democracy and good governance”.
“Those governors refused to allow elections take place because they want to continue spending councils’ funds without anybody querying them. This is the case in Osun State here where our governor has spent almost four years and cannot allow the conduct of a single LG election,” he stated.
Akinwusi promised that the SDP government will totally depart from this style, while asking those interested in running for offices in any of the 30 the local governments in the state to be assured of quick local government poll.
Leaders of the group, Elder Olajide Awe, assured Akinwusi that the Concerned Ijesa Forum, which has members across the six Ijesa Local Governments in the state, will give him their unalloyed support to him in the forthcoming governorship poll.
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