The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Oyo State Chapter has taken the extraordinary measure of suspending the elections for the positions of Treasurer and First Vice-Chairman in Ona-Ara Local Government, following a contentious dispute that has marred the electoral process.
The decision to suspend the elections was made after a formal petition was submitted by the affected parties, who alleged egregious irregularities and blatant injustice in the conduct of the elections. The petition precipitated a thorough examination of the electoral process, which revealed a plethora of anomalies and discrepancies that undermined the integrity of the elections.
At the epicentre of the controversy lies the outcome of the second vice and treasurer elections, where Ajayi L.O. secured an impressive 104 votes, while Gbadamosi A.A. garnered a significantly lower 77 votes. However, in a stunning reversal, Gbadamosi was declared the winner, ostensibly on the grounds that 52 votes were deemed invalid due to the purportedly incorrect formatting of initials (l.o instead of L.O.). This spurious rationale has been widely excoriated as a blatant subterfuge.
Furthermore, the treasurer election, which pitted Sangogade Abosede against Taiwo Omolade, has also been irretrievably marred by controversy. Both contestants secured an identical 84 votes, but some votes belonging to Sangogade were inexplicably discovered in other boxes and subsequently counted as invalid. In a flagrant disregard for the election guidelines, the officers eschewed the prescribed method of using coin toss to determine the winner, instead opting to disqualify votes with spelling errors that belonged to Sangogade.
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The affected parties have lodged a formal complaint with the state executive of the union, demanding a comprehensive, impartial, and expedited investigation into the matter. The integrity of the electoral process must be upheld, and justice must be served.
In light of these developments, eleven [11] executive memebers has been inaugurated today as the new union executive in Ona-Ara and the state executive of the union has declared the seats of both Treasurer and First Vice-Chairman vacant until January 10th, 2025, when the panel will attend to the issue and give a final decision upon conclusion of the investigation.
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Oyo State Chapter remains committed to upholding the principles of democracy, transparency, and accountability in all its activities. We urge all stakeholders to remain calm and cooperate with the investigation panel as we work towards resolving this matter in a fair and just manner.
