The much-anticipated Osun State governorship debate scheduled for Saturday was called off after organisers cited security concerns and the refusal of some major candidates to participate.
The debate was jointly organised by four privately owned radio stations—Uniq FM, Rave FM, Diamond FM and Fresh FM—as part of efforts to give voters an opportunity to hear directly from candidates ahead of the governorship election.
Candidates expected at the event included the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag bearer, Bola Oyebamiji; the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam; the Accord Party candidate; and the African Action Congress (AAC) candidate, Olajide Esan.
However, when the event was due to begin, only the AAC candidate, Olajide Esan, arrived at the venue. The absence of the other invited candidates, coupled with what the organisers described as unfavourable security reports, led to the cancellation of the debate.
The organisers explained that the decision was taken in the interest of the safety of participants, guests and members of the public. They also noted that the non-participation of some frontline candidates made it impossible to achieve the debate’s objective of providing voters with a fair platform to compare candidates’ policies and programmes.
The cancelled debate comes as political campaigns intensify ahead of the Osun State governorship election, with stakeholders continuing to emphasise the importance of issue-based campaigns and voter engagement.
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