"Voting begins at 8:00 am, and on election day, there is a police curfew that lasts until midnight. We are not doing anything different from what the police have done.”
Saheed Ademola (Kusenla III), the traditional monarch of the Ikate-Elegushi Kingdom, has imposed a three-day Oro rite on non-indigenous people and women from midnight to 5:30 a.m., including on the day of the gubernatorial and state assembly elections on Saturday.
The king informed the citizens of Ikate-Elegushi in a memo that there would be a limitation on mobility from Wednesday through Saturday so that the Oro rite could be performed in the neighborhood.
People said that the curfew was imposed for political reasons, which would further disenfranchise women and non-indigenous people from voting on election day. Others warned that it would stifle local business activity.
Temitope Oyefeso, the Ikate Kingdom's monarch's special advisor on media issues, stated that an Oro rite is taking place in the Ikate-Elegushi Kingdom.
"An Oro rite is taking place in the Ikate kingdom. As a result, the Elegushi community council determined that residents and tourists should stay in their homes from midnight to morning from Wednesday to Saturday," Mr Oyefeso told Peoples Gazette.
Mr. Oyefeso denied that it would disrupt election activities on Saturday, stating, "We are not saying people should sit at home during the day like they have in other places."
"Elections are held during the day, and by morning, we will open the roads for people to come," he continued. It is a customary rite. Unfortunately, it has come at this moment. That is an annual event, and this is not the first time it has occurred. We are not interfering with any processes."
According to him, the Oro rite will bring peace to the community, and it occurs in all Lagos communities.
He explained that non-indigenous voters registered in Elegushi will vote, stating that "they will not leave the house to vote by 2:00 a.m., thus they should remain in their house."
"Voting begins at 8:00 a.m., and there is a police curfew in effect until midnight on election day. We are not doing anything different than the police. "It will merely start two days earlier," the monarch's spokesman revealed. "People should quit speculating rumours or being nasty about Oro rituals; it is not interfering with the conduct of the election. Residents are free to walk about from the morning until 11:30 p.m."
The Gazette contacted Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesman in Lagos, about the situation.
“Do you want to talk about rumour or you want to talk about facts? I am not engaging in hearsay. They have the freedom to say whatever they want to say. I will not engage in speculation,” Mr Hundeyin said.
Source: Peoples Gazette, Facebook
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