Benjamin Omoike l Monday, 25, 2019
OGUN, Nigeria – The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has called for the immediate arrest of the Electoral Officer in charge of Yewa North/Imeko Afon Federal Constituency, Ogun State and some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the area, over alleged plans to release fake House of Representatives election results.
The party said the plot was a fallout of a meeting both parties held on Sunday evening after they found that the candidate of the ADC in the constituency, Hon. Jimoh Olaifa, popularly known as OJA, won the election with a great margin.
The State Secretary, ADC in Ogun State, Bashorun Niyi Salako, in a statement on Monday, said the APC had become devastated by the results filtering out of polling units across the federal constituency.
He said, “Our sources within APC and INEC have informed us that the duo refused to announce the House of Representatives election results after they have declared the results of the Presidential and Senatorial elections, which was won by the rulling party, because they wanted to alter the figures.
“If INEC fails to declare the results in two hours, we will hold the Electoral Commission and APC responsible and they should expect a protest. Their ultimate aim is to create confusion in the constituency and indirectly divert attention of our party members and electorate.”
The party stated that the duo should remember that anyone who flouted the law on announcement of official results would be made to face the consequences, stating that being a member of an opposition political party couldn’t confer immunity on anyone to flout the law.
Salako said, “The rulling party should not celebrate yet on the already declared result as we have heard reports of how some hoodlums disrupted the electoral processes in several areas that APC claimed to have won.
“We also have reports and evidences of how some Allied Peoples’ Movement and APC leaders engaged in vote trading across the three Senatorial Districts in the state, a development that contradicts the electoral law of the nation.”
ADC had raised alarm on how INEC frustrated electoral processes in the state. “There are also lapses on the part of INEC as electoral process did not start in Sokori area in Abeokuta, Edu poling unit, Ketu Adie Owo, Ado Ota LGA till 1pm due to absence of electoral materials like ballot papers and stamp pads among others.”
The state secretary also added that some members of the state’s NURTW had alerted the party on the plan of the ruling party to use some hoodlums to intimidate and harass electorates and supporters of ADC’s Ogun Central Senatorial candidate, Rt. Hon. Titi Oseni-Gomez.
He said, “We can also confirm that some youth, who dressed like members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, were paid and deployed to certain poling units to work with some INEC officials to ask the electorate to vote APC and alter electoral figures.”
