Don’t succumb to intimidation, APC chieftain charges INEC boss
The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), yesterday, dismissed Governor Ademola Adeleke’s alleged claim of recruiting 5,000 teachers in the last three years, describing the development as a pack of lies.
The main opposition party in the state said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led administration had not employed a single teacher since its inception in 2022.
The APC, in a statement by its Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, hinted that only a dishonest leader would claim to have engaged 5,000 fresh teachers when there has never been any indication of such a move in the almost three years of his government’s life.
It said that Adeleke might be dreaming over the alleged false recruitment of 5,000 teachers, saying that the claim is an indication that Adeleke may be a stranger to his government, in line with the belief that he is running his administration by proxy.
The statement read in part: “Perhaps, what Governor Adeleke had wanted to say in the video message was that he sacked the 1,500 teachers recruited by his immediate predecessor for no just cause other than political victimisation and vindictiveness.
“One would have expected Adeleke to disclose in the video recording how his administration allegedly exploited and duped the 32,000 teaching applicants who were told to apply for jobs by purchasing forms without any positive development traceable to it for three years running.
Meanwhile, against the backdrop of off-cycle elections in Anambra, Osun and Ekiti states, a chieftain of the APC in the state, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, yesterday, tasked the newly appointed Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, not to succumb to intimidation and harassment by the opposition in the discharge of his duties.
He also urged the INEC boss to demonstrate a high level of courage and integrity in the face of intimidation from politicians, especially opposition parties, ahead of the off-cycle and general elections.
In a statement forwarded to journalists, Oyintiloye, who had hitherto represented Obokun State Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly, advised Amupitan not to disappoint Nigerians by resisting all forms of undue pressure from politicians, especially opposition parties that may seek to blackmail the Commission to discredit valid electoral processes.
According to the statement, the electoral umpire, under Amupitan’s leadership, must act in line with the established rules and regulations, as well as acceptable standards of practice, to avoid committing errors in the face of pressure from politicians.
Oyintiloye, who commended President Bola Tinubu over Amupitan’s appointment, noted that the development shows that the new INEC boss is a man of integrity and honour with the capacity to sanitise the country’s electoral processes.
He, however, noted that the November Anambra governorship election and the 2026 gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun would be a litmus test for Amupitan.
