Former President Goodluck Jonathan has raised concern over what he described as a growing and "unwholesome" trend of serving governors, senior political officeholders and party leaders converging on states during off-cycle elections with large entourages of aides and heavy security details.

In a statement issued on his X handle on Tuesday, days after the conduct of the Osun State governorship election, Jonathan commended the Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies, political parties and residents of the state for the peaceful conduct of the August 15 poll. He, however, expressed concern over what he called an emerging pattern in political conduct during off-cycle elections, describing the level of political mobilisation witnessed in Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states as unusual and not something that should become normal in a democratic society.

According to Jonathan, political parties are fully entitled to campaign, mobilise their supporters and deploy legitimate party structures. He warned, however, that there is a point at which such mobilisation, particularly when it involves the overwhelming presence of serving governors, senior public officials and powerful political actors from outside a state on election day, can create an atmosphere of apprehension, intimidation, bullying and undue pressure.

The former president drew comparisons to similar situations he encountered during his own administration, recalling the 2013 Anambra and 2014 Ekiti governorship elections, when senior political leaders mobilised heavily and descended on those states. He said that upon being briefed at the time, he personally ordered party leaders and senior government officials to leave the states immediately.

Jonathan cautioned that if the current trend continues unchecked, opposing political parties would likely begin matching each other's deployments in every competitive election, gradually turning polls into displays of political strength rather than genuine contests for the people's mandate.

He therefore called on the National Peace Committee to urgently convene a national stakeholders' engagement aimed at establishing clear boundaries and acceptable standards guiding the conduct of political actors during off-cycle elections, describing the committee as the body best positioned to lead such a conversation.

The Osun governorship election, which produced 16 candidates including incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, All Progressives Congress candidate Bola Oyebamiji and African Democratic Congress candidate Najeem Salaam, has continued to generate reactions from political stakeholders across the country.

#GoodluckJonathan #OsunElection #OffCycleElections #NigeriaDemocracy #INEC #NationalPeaceCommittee #NaijaNews #IzonDaily