2015: Campaign posters flood Ibadan metropolis

Ahead of the 2015 general elections, the campaign posters of aspirants have started appearing in different parts of  Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the  posters were largely those of aspirants in the  PDP, APC and Accord.
Those sighted included that of the immediate past governor of Oyo State, Adebayo Alao- Akala,  Nigeria’s  Ambassador to Jordan, Taofik Arapaja, and Asim Gbolarunmi, all of the PDP.
Arapaja  and Gbolarumi were  both former deputy governors to Alao-Akala .
Another aspirant, whose poster was pasted conspicuously in the metropolis, was Mr Seyi Makinde of the PDP.
The posters of  Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State  and former Gov. Rashidi Ladoja of Accord were also pasted in various parts of the metropolis.
Areas where the posters where pasted included Mokola, Iwo road, Challenge, Sango, Bodija, Adamasingba, Felele, Queen  Elizabeth Road, Secretariat Road, Oja’Oba, Molete, Ring Road as well as some neigbouring towns.
Speaking on the upsurge  in the pasting of  campaign posters, Mr Akin Oke,  the Acting Chairman of APC in Oyo State,  said that the development was not in line with due process.
“People are just jumping the gun; those who are pasting posters are just trying to outsmart the  others.
“At least, INEC has not given the go ahead to do so,” he said.
Mr Kehinde Olaosebikan, a PDP stalwart,  told NAN on phone that even though INEC had  not given  the go-ahead to campaign, aspirants were merely creating awareness about their candidature.
“It is not illegal to do such a thing  since they have not indicated the positions they are contesting  for,” he said.
He, however, cautioned the aspirants  involved  not to do so in an indiscriminate manner.
The Public Relations Officer  of  Accord Party,  Mr Nureni Adeniran, told NAN  that  aspirants were just pasting  posters to create awareness within their parties that they would contest.
“ Take for instance, PDP,  where we have the posters of aspirants like Seyi Makinde, Alao-Akala and Arapaja;  this  does not imply  that anybody has been given the ticket,” he said.
But the spokesman of  INEC in Oyo State,  Mr Ayodele Folami, said the aspirants were wrong to display their  posters without the  consent of the electoral body.
Folami, who said the aspirants were  “ jumping the gun,’’ warned them against violating the commission’s guidelines. (NAN)