By Isa Isawade
Deputy Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Akinyode Oyewusi, has said sensitisation of the citizens on their duties and responsibilities is paramount to having credible elections in Nigeria.
Oyewusi made this point as the guest speaker at Osun NUJ Guest Platform which took place on Wednesday in Osogbo with theme: “The Role of Legislature In Ensuring Free, Fair and Credible Elections”.
The Osun number two lawmaker, who was unavoidably absent, was ably represented by his Spokesperson, Mr Segun Amure.
Amure said apart from the constitutional role of the Legislature which is to draft the electoral law and oversight on it, there are other players whose roles are also critical and whose behaviours influence outcome of the process.
“That’s why journalists must sensitise the public. The role of the legislature consists of oversight, lawmaking and appropriation,” he said.
According to him, the electorate must act in a way that will encourage enthronement of credible leadership. He alluded to the fact that many followers put too many responsibilities on the leaders which essentially lead to misbehavior of public office holders.
“So, electorate are also part of the problem. We need to educate ourselves that the Assembly is about lawmaking,” he said.
He also condemned the do or die attitude of politicians, saying it would not augur well for the country.
“Look at what happened yesterday (Tuesday 19 May 2026) in APC, it’s on the internet- an aspirant was not chosen at the primary and his supporters went to the billboard of the chosen candidate and pulled it down. If his supporters were at the scene, would that not have caused security breach? So, there must be real sensitisation of the electorate. To let them see that politics is not do or die. If an election is not peaceful, who caused it? It’s the electorate,” he asserted.
When asked to explain how the Assembly could assist INEC in its duties toward the forthcoming election, Amure submitted that: “There are many ways the Assembly can assist INEC but the kind of the system we are operating does not permit efforts of both the state assemblies and the National Assembly to impact on the citizens. There’s need for total independence of INEC.
“Take for instance, the parliament sitting that you organised today ought to be organised by the national body of the Nigeria Union of Journalists during the process of the 2026 Electoral Act. The body ought to organise a town hall meeting where journalists from all the states of the federation would be invited to put it through scrutiny before it became law. But because of the insincerity of the Federal Government, they started the process and passed it into law in less than seven days! Nigerians were alarmed. No country will move forward with such a behaviour. So, what can the Legislature do? We will find solution to our challenges when we achieve independence for the electoral body; when INEC is rescued from the government’s choking grip.”
He added that the judiciary is also facing the same challenge, maintaining that the third arm of government is not completely independent. This, he said, has led to all manner of influenced judgments delivered by court in the country. He cited the case of the autonomy of the local government administration which he said was even recently interpreted by the office of the Attorney General that the law does not give room for LCDA other than the existing constitutionally recognised local governments.
“But Lagos is still operating LCDAs. Also, instead of the 365 days allowed by the electoral law for local government election process, Lagos conducted its recent local government election within just 30 days. How can a nation progress with all these? As a lecturer in the university, I discovered that there’s none of our research papers that government makes use of. How will the country develop?
“Another instance is the portion of our law that says you cannot belong to more than one political party at a time. You cannot be voted for under two political parties. Peter Obi was in ADC for a month and a few days, he convinced his fellow candidates and members to register under the ADC and they complied. Now, he has moved to another party. The former party had submitted list of candidates since April 24. Those ones can no longer register in his new party, their votes have been periled. How can the country move forward this way?” he asked.
On the accusation by opposition that Osun Assembly is a rubber stamp of the judiciary, he responded:
“The answer is straight forward. The rubber stamp appellation has not been evident in Osun State House of Assembly under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Olumide Egbedun. The assembly is packed with experts who have brought in expertise that convinced the state government that this team is here to effectively represent the people. What the 7th Assembly could not achieve, this Assembly has achieved it. I will start with the University of Ilesa. When we came on board, the legislation that brought the institution was faulty. We took that up, sent delegation there and it was done. There was an issue during the Sally Tibbot staff audit saga, the Assembly went round over the crisis. Let me also take you to Ikirun Road that Oyetola abandoned. Hon. Inaolaji Waheed Ibrahim from Irewole Isokan has gone on oversight duties for more than five times to ensure that the road is done.
“Akinlalu Road was abandoned since 1976, sixteen years after independence, the Assembly has gone there in an oversight function. The road has been done now. When people in Ile-Ife were complaining about their bridge that had been abandoned, the first so ever that this government has done. This is the most sensitive government in the history of Osun State. I can go on and on to prove that this Assembly is not rubber stamp. We are also cooking something before the end of this Assembly which is bringing parliament to the public so that journalists will come on board, people at home can also phone in.”
He was asked about the criticism hauled at the administration by the opposition on healthcare delivery in the state, he answered: “If there is anybody that should be sad and ashamed, it should be members of the APC. Ask me why? This Assembly can attest that the Ademola Adeleke Administration has done exceedingly well and the citizens at home can affirm that.
“In the twelve years of APC, public health sector across the state were nothing but a figment of abandonment. I have been living in Ife North since 1994, all through the time of APC from Nov. 2010 when Aregbesola came on board until the time this government came into office, nothing was working at the health centres. I’m an ulcer patient, I got to my primary health centre which has a polling unit, I didn’t get any drug during the time of APC government. This government has renovated all the health centres. This government has built hospitals with some of the best facilities to cater for healthcare of the people. We built police post in the hospitals to secure the lives of the people.
“Functioning of a hospital goes beyond building. After building, you need personnel. We are in that phase now. We have put out advert for recruitment. The process is ongoing. The health centres across the state have been restructured. The governor got an award for performing in the health sector. If he is not performing, would that award be given to him? Let me tell you, the allocation for local governments has been withheld for more than eighteen months. And you should not forget that from the allocation of local governments, salaries of personnel of the primary health centres would be paid.
“But this governor has been paying since the Feb. 2025 that the allocation has not been given. So, what moral right does the APC have to question how the health sector is run? The day of reckoning will come for those who are occupying that place illegally. Let me also remind you that Osun has the best salary structure. APC will never come near this government house.”
In his parting words, he advised the Osun NUJ to initiate a move towards revival of press group and activities in secondary schools as a way of sensitising and enlightening the young generation of citizens in the state for political and social emancipation. He opined that such would build confidence in them and properly develop their mind for a better tomorrow.
The Chairman of Osun State Chapter of the NUJ, Comrade Adeyemi Aboderin welcomed the guest speaker and commended his eloquence.
He said the theme of the event was deliberate because, according to him, the country was in the mood of electing a new set of leadership both at the state house of assemblies and the National Assembly.
He noted that it’s the Legislature that is “saddled with the responsibility of giving us a credible electoral act. It is the responsibility of the Legislature to reshape the political dynamism of the country called Nigeria. An electoral act that is worth its onion, that can ensure free, fair, transparent and acceptable poll in Nigeria will go a long way in ensuring that democracy continues to develop the most populous black nation in the world.
“But up till now, you will all agree with me that we are yet to have a credible electoral act that works. And that is a minus for political development in the country. That is why we have brought the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly to speak to the topic. At this point in time, I want to commend our guest for being up to the task.
“Democracy starts with the Assembly, and it is the most powerful of the three arms of government. But unfortunately, the Executive arm of government has reduced the power of legislature to what many people consider as rubber stamp but we hope, as democracy continues to evolve in Nigeria, the Legislature whether at the national or state level will get its bearing right,” Aboderin concluded.
