The chairman of the Accord Party in Osun State chapter, Victor Babalola Akande and the lawmaker representing Ila/Ifedayo/Boluwaduro in House of Representatives, Honourable Clement Akanni Olohunwa, on Monday faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) risk assessment report which identified of 385 flashpoints in the state.

Describing the report as “an hatchet job for a sinister electoral agenda, the duo in a joint statement, issued in Osogbo, the state capital, urged INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Osun, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, to review the veracity of the report in the interest of transparency and fairness.

However, while lauding the REC for her commitment to credible and acceptable exercise ahead of August 15 offcycle governorship poll in the state, they decried the report, vowing to engage the commission on the details and the antecedents of the consultant who handled the preparation of the risk assessment.

Olohunwa, who disputed the inclusion of his constituency in the risk assessment report, contended that “Ila and Ifedayo Local Governments are not hotspots for kidnappings, hence the classification of the councils as hotspot for kidnapping is unfounded. Till date, Ila Orangun has never witnessed any case of kidnapping.

According to the statement, “the two cases that happened at Ifedayo Local Government were strictly at Ora, not even the entire Ifedayo Local Government. After those cases, the security agencies have largely secured the areas and peace has since been restored.

“Ila has however never witnessed any case of kidnapping and it is wrong to add Ila and even Ifedayo to flashpoints as was done. The error committed by the inclusion of Ila in the report calls into question the veracity and truthfulness of the risk assessment done by the State INEC.

“The entire risk assessment may have misrepresented the level of risk in Osun State. There is no way Osun could have 385 flashpoints. Osun is a largely peaceful state until the last few weeks when Osun APC thugslaunched attacks on the state.

“I urge the State REC to probe the consultant who handled the preparation of the report. Many things must have been cooked up. Many false flags may have been included. The REC should review the report to ensure that planning is not done on false data,” the legislator posited.

Similarly, chairman of Accord Party in Osun, Victor Babalola Akande, described the report as a ploy to disenfranchise Osun voters in targeted communities.

The statement quoted Akande to have stated that “Osun cannot have 200 inaccessible areas; the figure is likely inflated. This is a pattern that questions the credibility of the report.

“We don’t want to speak further on the implications of the report. I have received so many reports from stakeholders on the alleged flashpoints. We will engage the commission. We are sure the REC will also review the risk assessment.”