• APC, PDP trade blame over CVR violence
• Adeleke urges security agencies to stay neutral
• Says state must not become political battleground

Against the backdrop of the recently released statistics by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) in the country, which placed Osun State in the lead with 474,372 registrants, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, yesterday, urged the umpire to exhibit more transparency in the exercise.
 
A statement by the party’s Director of Media, Hezekiah Oladele Bamiji, questioned the alleged wide disparity between the number of online pre-registrants and those who have completed the mandatory in-person registration in the state.
 
Bamiji, while contending that less than 600 registrants were recorded to have completed the in-person process as at the time of the Commission’s report, described the development as “a worrisome gap that raises serious questions about the transparency, credibility, and efficiency of the registration process.”
 
Meanwhile, the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged that its members were attacked by suspected hoodlums working for the PDP in Ikirun at the venue of the CVR exercise.
 
The APC, in a statement signed by its Spokesperson, Kola Olabisi, condemned the attack and called on security agencies to investigate and make those involved face the consequences of their actions.
 
However, the leadership of the PDP in the state has dismissed the APC’s allegations, saying that the party was in the habit of perpetrating crimes and hiding behind police cover to escape justice.
 
The PDP alleged that the APC had a pattern of instigating crises, only to turn around and call on the police to victimise the victims of its aggression.
 
Also, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has called on security agencies to remain professional and non-partisan in the unfolding political climate, stressing that Osun, being the home state of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must not be turned into a political battleground.

A statement by his Spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, noted that the governor made the appeal during the decoration ceremony of his Aide-De-Camp (ADC), Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ahmed Bio AbdulRaman, at the Government House, Osogbo.
 
Adeleke praised the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for its professionalism, commending the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Osun Command for their discipline and adherence to due process. 
 
The governor, while lauding the synergy among security agencies, charged them to remain neutral in political activities.