The Chairman, Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC), Mr. Babatunde Osibodu says, only one petition has been received from the tribunal set up to consider election petitions out of the 256 elections conducted, comprising 20 for Chairmen and 236 for Councillors in the State.

Osibodu who disclosed this in Abeokuta during a courtesy visit to the State Ministry of Information and Strategy, noted that the development was an indication that the people and the parties recognised that the conduct of the election was free, fair and highly credible.

According to him, “it is the first time in the history of elections in this State and probably across Nigeria that only one petition was received from the tribunal set up to consider Local Government election petitions. We thank God for the peaceful conduct of all political parties and the people during the election. There was no report of breach of peace, brigandage or anything that is against the law.

"We are very pleased with the outcome of the elections. The media also outperformed themselves in this particular election. Both the print and electronic as well as social media were very cooperative throughout the entire process”, he said.

Osibodu commended the management and staff of the Ministry of Information and Strategy for the tremendous support and cooperation OGSIEC received during the recently concluded elections, adding that their efforts had contributed immensely towards the successful conduct of the elections.

Remarking, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Abdulwaheed Odusile, noted that, the synergy between his Ministry and the Electoral Commission was responsible for the dissemination of accurate information to the people during the just concluded 2021 Local Government elections in the State.

Odusile said the collaboration reflected in the positive outcome of the elections, stating that without the cooperation, the two agencies would not have been able to give credible report  about the election to the people.

“I thank the Chairman of OGSIEC and the entire Commission for the visit, it goes a long way in building the synergy that we have created between OGSIEC and the Ministry and by extension, the journalists in Ogun State.

“Our officers were deployed to monitor the elections across the entire 20 Local Government Areas, which is a novel thing. I am sure, my colleagues that went out from the Ministry enjoyed it as it will enrich their experience and the information data bank in the Ministry”, he stated.