The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ladi Adebutu, says masked men carrying AK47 rifles disrupted the electoral process and rigged last Saturday’s election in favour of Governor Dapo Abiodun.
The governorship candidate said this on Monday at a press conference in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State.
Mr Adebutu said the PDP has discovered over 14,000 votes allegedly fraudulently counted in favour of the APC governorship candidate.
He said agents of the party have been able to identify 10,000 excess votes in one local government area and another 4,000 excess votes in Ogijo, Sagamu.
Mr Abiodun was declared the winner having polled 276,298 while Mr Adebutu of the PDP and Biyi Otegbeye of ADC got 262,383 and 94,753 respectively.
But the PDP said the number of cancelled votes was more than the margin between the APC and the PDP.
During the collation of results on Sunday, journalists asked the INEC State Returning Officer, Kayode Adebowale, for the total number of cancelled votes but he refused to respond.
Earlier the state chairman of PDP, Sikirulai Ogundele, also called on INEC to declare the election inconclusive.
Mr Ogundele, who was represented by his deputy, Kayode Bangbose, during the press briefing, alleged that the commission had connived with Mr Abiodun and security agencies to rig the elections.
Efforts to get a reaction from the governor’s spokesperson, Kunle Somorin, failed as he neither picked up his calls nor responded to a text message sent to his phone.
Read the PDP statement below:
Text of Press Conference Gentlemen of the Press Conference by Alh. Hon. Sikirulai Ogundele, State Chairman, Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP On The Governorship and State House of Assembly Elections in Ogun state
Gentlemen of the Press,
It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this important press briefing.
Foremost, permit me to extend our warm words of eternal gratitude to the good people of Ogun state, loyal members of our party, teeming and unrepentant supporters who came out in large numbers to vote for our candidates on Saturday. Indeed, we are further convinced of the peoples’ unending support.
Today, our beloved state is mourning.
The victory you all stood in line for, for hours, enduring the rigorous process of voting and risking your lives for has been stolen.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in unpatriotic connivance with the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and Governor Dapo Abiodun with security agencies provided support, brazenly rigged the results of the governorship and house of assembly elections.
Specifically, the Nigeria Police and the military provided virile cover for gun-wielding criminals to disrupt and burn ballot boxes in over 100 polling units across the state.
These polling units were strategically targeted as they are known strongholds of our party.
Gentlemen, you would recall that our party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, days before the election, invited the attention of the general public to the devilish plans to launch a large-scale disruption of electoral process and possible snatching of ballot boxes in any Polling units perceived to be PDP’s stronghold during the gubernatorial election.
As a responsible political organisation, we also warned and charged the Nigeria Police and other security agencies not to hold all signals with kid gloves.
But despite our warnings, those who should be at the forefront of confronting these assaults aided them.
The Chairman of Sagamu Local Government, Afolabi Odulate was arrested with AK-47 automatic rifle and other condiments only to be released within one hour. The Chairman and Publicity Secretary of the government-controlled transport union, Efele and Danny, were arrested leading criminal squads to disrupt polling units only to be released within one hour.
Please turn to the pictures being shared with you and you will understand and see how official vehicles of the government house were transporting these criminal elements to maim and disrupt electoral processes.
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The gubernatorial election of last Saturday was heavily characterized with unprecedented needless violence in several local government areas including Sagamu where 54 polling units were attacked by APC sponsored thugs and ballot boxes and other sensitive election materials were carted away and burnt to ashes.
Similar calculated occurrences took place in Odogbolu LGA, Ikenne, Remo North, Ifo, Ogun waterside, Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North, Ipokia, Ado Odo Ota, Ijebu East, Ijebu North East, Obafemi Owode and Ijebu Ode. A total of 14 local governments out of the 20.
To our greatest dismay, the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC legalised and legitimised these atrocities when it failed to acknowledge the disruption of votes in these local governments and follow the provision of Section 24 subsection 3 and section 51 subsection 3 of the electoral act as amended.
It is self-evident that INEC has made itself a willing tool in the hands of the peoples forsaken APC.
With tangible proof of reckless manipulation, over voting and gross disregard for the dictates and provisions of the electoral law 2022, we can safely say that the figures announced by INEC as the final result of the governorship election does not represent the popular wish of the people.
It should also be placed on record that despite the fact that our party notified the Returning Officer of the position of the electoral law on situations where the margin of winning is lower than the number of disenfranchised voters, a rerun should be held, a petition was also submitted to the INEC which was acknowledged by the REC but was not attended to, yet the result was announced and declared against the provision of the electoral law.
The Returning Officer, Prof. Kayode Adebowale refused and purposely did not mention the total cancelled votes because he knew it was way over the winning margin multiple times, he hurriedly announced the result.
In Kebbi state which was declared inconclusive this morning, a similar case happened and the unbias returning officer followed the dictates of law.
We are hereby calling on the National Chairman of the INEC Professor Mahmud Yakubu to reverse this clear manipulation, injustice and rape of democracy by the returning officer in Ogun state by declaring the Ogun governorship election inconclusive and ordering a rerun in affected areas.
We are also calling on the INEC Chairman to replace the state’s returning officer with someone of proven integrity and unbiased posture.
We want to assure our supporters and the people of Ogun state whose victory, celebration and freedom have been delayed to be assured that we will do everything possible to right this injustice and it shall never stand.
We thank you for your rapt attention and time.
God bless Ogun state.
God bless Nigeria.
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