The Imole Campaign Council, the campaign group for Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election, has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prematurely end voting in selected local government areas during the August 15 governorship election in the state.

In a statement on Monday, the campaign council spokesperson, Pelumi Olajengbesi, alleged that the APC intends to target local government areas considered strongholds of Mr Adeleke in a bid to “suppress votes and disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters.”

Mr Olajengbesi said, “We unequivocally condemn this despicable plot and alert all Nigerians and lovers of democracy to the danger it poses to the credibility of the election.

“The people of Osun State must be allowed to exercise their constitutional right to vote freely and peacefully without obstruction, intimidation or deliberate disenfranchisement.”

The spokesman accused the APC of plotting to use federal might to pressure the electoral body to truncate the will of eligible voters during the state’s off-cycle governorship poll.

“The APC, after failing in its attempts to blot out Governor Adeleke and his party from the ballot through the courts, resorted to arbitrary arrests, intimidation and harassment of Accord Party members by the police.

“Now that those schemes have failed to weaken the resolve of the people, we have received information suggesting another attempt to deploy federal might and exert pressure on the electoral umpire to sabotage the will of the Osun people,” he added.

The campaign group called on INEC to resist political pressure and strictly follow its set voting procedures and timelines.

The group warned against the arbitrary closure of polling units where eligible voters are present and during stipulated voting periods.

The group said, “No polling unit should be arbitrarily closed while eligible voters who presented themselves within the stipulated voting period are waiting to exercise their franchise. The rules must be applied uniformly across Osun State without fear, favour or political interference.

“The Osun State governorship election is a precursor to the 2027 general elections, and it must be free, fair, transparent and devoid of any manipulation or disenfranchisement. The credibility of our electoral institutions and the confidence of Nigerians in the democratic process are at stake.”

The campaign group called on civil society organisations, independent election observers, international bodies and the media to be vigilant and help protect the state’s democracy by serving as active watchdogs against “desperate political actors seeking to manipulate state institutions to perpetrate electoral crimes.”