By Yusuf Adua
Comrade Raheem Baseet Oluwamubola popularly known as IBM from the Federal University of Technology, Mina (FUTMINA), Niger state becomes the newest national president of the National Association of Oyo Students (NAOS).
This came into being after the association conducted an election yesterday which was halted twice but continued after series of interventions.
Press briefing and admonition of the aspirants and party agents were what opened the electoral floor at about 10:00 am before the electoral chairman and the petition chairman addressed the contestants.
The posts of sports director, treasurer, financial secretary, and assistant general Secretary were unopposed, the post of auditor and vice president also had just a contestant meaning that the candidates just needed two-third of votes to be declared the winner.
Comrade Raheem Basset Oluwamubola from the Federal University of Technology, Mina (FUTMINA), Niger state slugged it out with Comrade oladimeji Ibraheem Olawale from the Federal School of Surveying, Oyo for the prestigious national president position.
National Association of Oyo Students Electoral Commission (NAOSEC) chairman, Com. Lamidi Quawiyu Adewale assured the voters that all modalities were in place to accommodate the delegates of all the thirty-eight chapters of the union.
Unlike before, he also told News Live Nigeria reporters that the security framework of the voting centre, Federal Road Safety Corp’s headquarters, Oyo had been beefed up as Members of the Nigerian Police, NSCDC, and support from the FRSC was readily in place.
Comrade Oyeleke Olalekan from the Federal Polytechnic Ede, the election petition chairman made News Live Nigeria understand that he and his team were on their constitutional mandate to make the election free, fair, and violence-free.
The Speaker of the House, Comrade Esuola Quadri from Ekiti State University (OYO campus) believed that he had put his hands on deck to make the election one of a kind and break the damning jinx of the past.
The two presidents-elect also contended with the voting process, though seeing themselves as potential winners, they would agree on the outcome of the election if it was devoid of foul plays.
Out of the 38 registered chapters of the association, the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), and the Federal College of Education (sp.) Oyo was not accredited when the accreditation started at exactly 11: 23 am.
According to NAOSEC, an indirect voting system was adopted to minimise crowd and damage that would be too difficult to to account for. Each school was to present a maximum of five delegates who would represent their interest at the polls.
The election started at exactly noon with 190 ballot papers available but was halted on two occasions owing to an altercation at the polling unit between electoral officials and party agents and an intrusion and shooting of a member of Operation Burst.
When our correspondent quizzed NAOSEC, its chairman debunked the news making rounds that the body involved the paramilitary outfit, Operation Burst, in the conduct of the election.
As at the time of filing this report, the actual stakeholder who invited the paramilitary operatives was yet to be identified.
By 1:00 pm, NAOSEC however proceeded with the conduct of the election. Aside from FUNAAB whose votes were not made to count due to failed accreditation, Adeyemi College of Education Ondo State and Tai Solaarin University of Education (TASUED) presented only three delegates each while one student (name withheld) wasn’t allowed to vote for conflict of impersonation.
In the view of external observers, the election wasn’t elegantly organised as the voting pattern was too cumbersome and extremely tedious for both the electoral officials and voters alike.
Some onlookers also faulted the voting procedure which stipulated that only the president is allowed to choose delegates or come to pick the ballot papers for his representatives claiming that it was an avenue for manipulation, penetration, and loitering citing the case of LAUTECH which had issues of choosing their delegates which even led to a brawl at the entrance of the voting centre.
Consequently, voting ended at 02:53 pm with 17 void votes. Comrade Raheem Basset Oluwamubola from the Federal University of Technology, Mina (FUTMINA), Niger state spanked his opponent, Comrade Oladimeji Ibraheem Olawale from the Federal School of Surveying, Oyo ruthlessly with regard to the result of the election. The former prevailed with 143 votes while the latter racked up just 19 votes in total.
Another stakeholder of the association and the Clerk of the House, Comrade Ridwan Amidu felt relieved and satisfied with the relative peace that accompanied the conduct of this year’s election as opposed to previous ones.
