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A bye-election was conducted on Saturday to replace Hon. Gideon Aremu, lawmaker representing Oorelope State Constituency in the Oyo State House of Assembly.
The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Mr Lukman Balogun, won the election after polling 6,122 votes. The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Mr Jimoh Gbadamosi, polled 4,148 votes while the Accord party candidate, Mr Solomon Olabisi polled 2,123 votes.
The election was adjudged peaceful by locals and all stakeholders. Security operatives were on ground to ensure a hitch-free electoral process.
Recall that Hon. Aremu, the lawmaker being replaced, was murdered in his Alakia, Ibadan home on July 1 by some assailants who have since been arrested and charged to court.
Balogun is a former caretaker chairman of the Oorelope Local Government.
Speaking after he was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Balogun hailed the conduct of the election and thanked voters for trusting him with the mandate.
He said:
“The surprising thing in this election is that we defeated them with 1,996 during the poll that returned the late Hon. Aremu and today, we have posted a similar margin. We had 1,974. It shows that the people believe in us and we will not let them down.”
The late Aremu was a Labour Party lawmaker so, the political equation in the House remains the same: APC – 18 members; Labour Party – 6 and Accord – 8.