…Opposition calls for election cancellation, alleges corruption
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has clinched victory in the Ogun State Local Government elections, winning all 20 chairmanship and 236 councillorship seats in the state.
The announcement was made early on Sunday by the Chairman of the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC), Babatunde Osibodu, who confirmed that APC triumphed across all local government areas.
In a live broadcast from the OGSIEC headquarters in Abeokuta, Osibodu revealed that a total of 613,156 votes were cast in the elections.
He said, “A total of 613,156 votes were cast in the chairmanship elections across the 20 local government areas.
“The elections saw participation from 19 political parties, including the Accord Party, African Action Congress, African Democratic Congress, Action Democratic Party, All Progressives Congress, Allied People’s Movement, All Progressives Grand Alliance, and Labour Party.”
Despite APC’s landslide victory, opposition parties have expressed strong dissatisfaction with the conduct of the election, accusing OGSIEC and the ruling party of manipulation and irregularities.
The Ogun State Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Femi Aina, condemned the election process, calling it chaotic and unfair.
Aina said, “OGSIEC has questions to answer, and the state House of Assembly must summon all OGSIEC officials to explain why the election was conducted in such a chaotic manner.
“Why were people allowed to vote with business cards? What about the inadequate ballot papers and late arrivals of OGSIEC officials? There was no election, just a corrupt exercise. NNPP totally rejects the results because the process was entirely unfair.”
Also, the Ogun State Chairman of the Labour Party, Lookman Jagun, rejected the election results outright, referring to the election as a “sham.”
He said, “We completely reject any results declared in this sham of an election. Even the good people of Ogun State have expressed their opinions on radio and television that there was no election in the state.
“We call on OGSIEC to cancel the entire election for clear violations of Ogun State’s electoral law. If they fail to do so, we will reject any announced results and take the necessary steps to challenge this charade in court.”
The Ogun State Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Sunday Solarin, also denounced the election, accusing APC thugs of attacking opposition members and undermining the integrity of the process.
Solarin said, “This election was a sham. APC thugs attacked our members during the election, and we have received reports of numerous irregularities. The election was neither free nor fair, and we will not accept the results.”