..Calls on  OYSIEC to use  BVAs in poll
By Wuraola Oyedokun
 A former Caretaker Committee  chairman in Oyo State, Hon. Sarafadeen Olaoniye Bibire has called on  the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission {OYSIEC} to make use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the result viewing portal (IREV)  in the April 27, 2024 local council election in the state.
Bibire argued that the use of BVAs  would ensure that the election is  free, fair and transparent.
The political leader, who made the call in a chat with journalists, pointed out that the world evolves technologically every day, emphasizing that  the only way to arrest election frauds, post-election violence and distrust in the election body is through the use of the BVAs.
While calling the residents to actively participate in the forthcoming local government election, Bibire  expressed optimism that the All Progressives  Congress {APC} would  win the 85 per cent of the polls if with the use of BVAs.
According to him, the tier of government remains the closest to the people, but  anti-people political parties have been holding Nigerians to ransom since 1999 by silencing the local government administrations through the imposition of  their lackeys.
‘’They do this for two reasons. One is to keep primitively looted wealth by making sure allocations to the local governments  are held at the state level and pittances sent down to their lackeys in charge. Also, they hold down the local governments to make sure there is no development from below’’, he said.
In a related development,  Bibire has lauded Governor  Seyi Makinde for his resolve to liberate the grassroots by formalising elections to the local government since his first term in office.
He therefore called Makinde to direct the chairman of OYSIEC, Isiaka Olagunju to use BVAs in the forthcoming elections to guarantee the integrity of the polls.
He said: ‘’In the light of the polls coming up in a couple of weeks, I call on the OYSIEC to be transparent, fair, and free. We know that some underhand dealings are  at play, but we will resist all forms of rigging throughout the  state. We insist that both BVAS and IREV must work efficiently”
He, however, appealed to the people of Oyo State, especially Ibarapa residents to vote credibly brilliant, selfless, and highly experienced candidates in the election.
He said:”If Nigerians can get it right in terms of local government administration, we would not be suffering this badly.We have a situation today – Nigerians are suffering in the hands of the few. We also call on police, military, and paramilitary not to be allowed to be used to disrupt elections. We call on the electorate to come out  en masse and  vote for the candidate of their choice’’.