APC Warns Members as Osun Election Draws Closer

(Tolu Bankole. Photo by Punch News)

A member of the All Progressives Congress National Working Committee has appealed to party members and supporters in Osun State to mobilise behind the party’s governorship candidate ahead of Saturday’s election while cautioning against violence, internal fractures and tactical compromises.

Bankole, who serves as the APC’s National Coordinator for Persons with Disabilities, issued the statement from the capital on Thursday as heightened security preparations unfolded across the state.

The electoral commission is scheduled to conduct the gubernatorial contest on Saturday, with multiple candidates contesting including Oyebamiji, the party’s flagbearer.

Bankole urged APC functionaries to consolidate support behind the candidate, emphasising the necessity of complete commitment, mobilisation and organisational cohesion.

He stressed that the party leadership maintained unwavering dedication to the candidate’s electoral triumph, ruling out compromise or retreat regardless of external pressure or intimidation.

He affirmed that public sentiment had crystallised around the candidate’s candidacy and capacity for governance.

The party official simultaneously cautioned members against deploying violence or engaging in conduct that could compromise electoral integrity.

He stressed the imperative of conducting the contest through peaceful means whilst protecting votes and collaborating with security apparatus to facilitate a free and transparent process.

Bankole appealed to party leadership and stakeholders to eliminate internal divisions at this critical juncture, characterising fragmentation as an untenable luxury.

He stressed that every administrative level and functionary bore responsibility for ensuring unified party effort.

The appeal coincided with security force deployment across the state.

Approximately 25,310 security personnel from various agencies have been positioned across major thoroughfares, streets and strategic locations.

The deployment comprises police operatives, civil defence corps personnel and financial crimes investigators, initiated to forestall violence, voter intimidation, disruption of the electoral process and associated irregularities.