As Osun State prepares for Saturday’s governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office along the Gbongan-Ibadan Road in Osogbo has become a hive of activity, with a heightened security presence.

Our correspondent sighted security agents in large numbers on the premises of INEC, including personnel of the Nigeria Police Force.

Preparations are being intensified for their deployment across the 30 local government areas of the state.

Election stakeholders are also present at the office ahead of the exercise.

They include civil society organisations, journalists and election observers.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Oluwatoyin Babalola, is said to be meeting with National Commissioners and supporting RECs from other states as final arrangements for the election are being concluded.

The election will be held in 3,763 polling units across 332 wards in the 30 local government areas of the state.

INEC had on Thursday said that over 1.9 million permanent voter cards (PVCs) were collected for the Osun governorship election.

INEC’s National Commissioner, Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, in a statement, said the number was derived from the total of 2,339,233 registered voters in the State.

“Out of the total of 2,339,233 registered voters in the State, 1,906,390 PVCs, representing 81.50 per cent, have been collected. The remaining 426,842 PVCs, representing 18.50 per cent, have been safely deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in line with the Commission’s established practice.

“Similarly, it should be noted that some persons with damaged, defaced, or lost PVCs applied for replacement of their cards. A total of 6,101 among those who applied printed downloadable copies of their PVCs,” the Commission said.

By Augustine Akhilomen

Chief Julius Bokoru, the Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs to former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has questioned the circumstances surrounding reports linking his principal to an alleged plot against President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Bokoru said the manner in which the allegations had been repeatedly reported raised serious questions about the sources of the information and the motive behind the continuous publication of the claims.

The aide spoke in a statement issued amid growing attention to reports concerning Sylva and an alleged plan to overthrow the Federal Government.

He said his comments should not be interpreted as an attempt to undermine investigative journalism or prevent the media from scrutinising public officials.

Rather, Bokoru urged journalists to examine the origin of information supplied to them, especially when the materials involve sensitive security investigations.

“Nigerian journalism has, at its best, played a courageous and indispensable role in holding governments, institutions and powerful individuals to account.”

He, however, said the reporting of the allegations against Sylva appeared to have moved beyond investigation into what he described as a repeated effort to establish one particular narrative.

“The allegations have been repeatedly serialised, repackaged and amplified in a manner that increasingly gives the impression of a deliberate campaign to cement a particular narrative in the public mind,” he stated.

Bokoru said he had not been able to establish contact with Sylva since the controversy started.

He nevertheless maintained that the absence of direct communication with his principal would not stop him from raising questions about the manner in which information concerning the former Bayelsa State governor was being released.

He particularly questioned the source and timing of documents reportedly used in some of the reports.

“Where are these materials coming from? Who is supplying them? Why are sensitive investigative documents appearing in carefully sequenced instalments?

“And why does virtually every new report seem calculated to reinforce the same conclusion about Sylva, even though the allegations have yet to be established in court?”

The development followed earlier reports that security operatives had raided Sylva’s Abuja residence while investigating an alleged coup plot.

Bokoru had previously confirmed that the residence was raided by individuals believed to be operatives of the Defence Headquarters.

He also said the operation caused considerable damage to the property. Sylva was outside Nigeria at the time, according to his aide.

Bokoru, however, has consistently denied that his principal had any involvement in a plan to remove Tinubu from office.

In his latest statement, he was more focused on the media coverage of the matter and the danger of presenting allegations as established facts.

“I will say plainly that the pattern of this coverage increasingly raises the uncomfortable question of whether some organisations are pursuing their own stories or, knowingly or otherwise, acting from someone else’s script,” he said.

He stressed that he was not accusing any media organisation of receiving instructions or funding from a particular person or group.

According to him, he had no evidence to make such an accusation.

His concern, he said, was whether journalists were independently verifying the information being handed to them before publication.

Bokoru also drew a distinction between an allegation contained in an investigative document and a finding that has been established through the courts.

“There is also a fundamental distinction that should never be blurred: an allegation is not evidence; an investigator’s theory is not a conviction; and a statement contained in an investigative file is not a judicial finding of guilt,” he said.

He therefore challenged authorities with evidence against Sylva to follow due process and present any prosecutable case before a court.

“If there are allegations, report them as allegations,” Bokoru insisted.

The aide further warned against what he described as the trial of individuals through the media.

He said continuous publication of unproven allegations could create a situation where public opinion becomes the judge, despite the absence of cross-examination and other safeguards available in a court of law.

“The more troubling possibility is that confidential investigative materials may be selectively finding their way into the media in order to shape public opinion,” he said.

Bokoru said media organisations should be careful not to become instruments for interests seeking to influence public perception.

He maintained that the responsibility of the press goes beyond obtaining exclusive information.

According to him, journalists must also establish the context, reliability and status of such information before presenting it to the public.

“Our journalists have fought too hard for the freedom to investigate power to become unwitting instruments of power,” he said.

The aide also acknowledged the right of the media to investigate Sylva and report developments surrounding the former minister.

However, he said that right should come with an obligation to clearly distinguish between verified facts, allegations and leaked materials.

Bokoru added, “If the evidence is solid, publish it. If it is an allegation, call it an allegation. If it is a leaked narrative, tell the public that it is a leaked narrative. But do not repeatedly dress accusation in the language of established fact.”

He warned that the repetition of an allegation could gradually create the impression that the claim had already been proven.

“There is a danger in allowing repetition to become a proof.”

Sylva, who is a former governor of Bayelsa State, has remained a prominent figure within the All Progressives Congress.

His aide has previously pointed to his support for Tinubu and the APC as evidence of his political alignment with the current administration.

Bokoru also recalled Sylva’s role in mobilising APC stakeholders in Bayelsa to endorse Tinubu.

He said the media should not allow itself to be used in political battles, regardless of who is providing the information.

Bokoru called for the allegations to be subjected to proper investigation and legal scrutiny rather than being repeatedly debated through media reports.

He said if the authorities have credible evidence, the appropriate step would be to present it through the proper legal process.

“Nigeria deserves a fearless press. But a fearless press must also be an independent press,” he said.

President Bola Tinubu says his administration has taken responsibility for addressing the challenges inherited from previous governments, regardless of how long the problems had persisted.

The President stated this in Abuja when he received the National Executive Council of the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), led by its National President, Salimon Akanni Oladiti, at the State House.

Tinubu said the Federal Government would adopt an evidence-based approach to addressing the challenges confronting the nation’s refineries, including detailed research, technical assessments, restructuring and improved management.

“I’m not a man who goes looking back on everything because I’ve accepted the assets and liabilities of my predecessor,” he said on Thursday.

“No matter what has happened in the years past, it’s now my responsibility as president to fix it and make it work for the greatest common good of our population. I take responsibility for that, and we will do it.”