The issuance of certificate of return to lawmakers-elect in Osun State was almost marred by violence on Monday as some hoodlums attack a lawmaker-elect from Ife East Constituency, Mr. Akinwole Akinwale.
The lawmaker-elect was about leaving the state office of the Independent National Electoral Commission when some miscreants waylaid him and prevented him from leaving the venue.
Our correspondent observed that there was a brief fight at the gate of the INEC office but the crisis was quickly resolved.
Akinwole later told our correspondent on the telephone that those who attacked him were sent by a former commissioner from Ife.
He said he had been told that he would not be allowed to collect the certificate of return.
He said, ” I was attacked by some boys who said the former commissioner had said I should not be allowed to take the certificate. I was told he asked them to shoot me if I insisted on collecting it.
“I was attacked while coming out of the INEC office and they tore my clothes. The policemen who were there tried to rescue me and I was ferried out of the place in the Speaker’s car.”
Earlier, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, advised the lawmakers-elect to set aside their political differences and work together to move the state forward.
The REC urged the legislators-elect not to betray the trust reposed in them by the electorate.
Responding, the lawmakers-elect said they were ready to work for the development of the state irrespective of their party affiliation.
The Deputy Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Mr. Akintunde Adegboye, who spoke on behalf of the 24 lawmakers elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress lauded the Speaker, Mr. Najem Salam, for the manner he led the Assembly for the past four years.
The PDP lawmaker-elect from Ife Central, Mr. Oladejo Makinde, lauded the INEC for being fair in the conduct of the election.
He said the lawmakers-elect were friends and would unite to move the state forward.
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