The Osun State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Hon. Soji Adagunodo, has flayed the electoral umpire for declaring an election, which the candidate of the PDP, Ademola Adeleke, led with 353 votes, inconclusive as a result of the cancellation of results from five polling units.
Adagunodo said the development is an attempt by INEC to allegedly skew the playing field against the PDP candidate in favour of the All Progressives Congress’.
He made this known in a statement he signed and made available to newsmen on Sunday.
He added that it was uncalled for to have declined declaring the PDP candidate who garnered the most votes and had met the requirements to be returned.
The statement read in part, “We want to call the attention of Nigerians to the reality that the plot to declare the election inconclusive was pre-planned and orchestrated by INEC in collaboration with the APC. APC agents in collaboration with security personnel deliberately attacked the polling units at Orolu, Ife North, Ife South and Osogbo which are PDP strongholds.It was to prepare ground for their infamous inconclusive declaration.
“Aside that, the state returning officer deliberately refused to correct our complaints of arithmethical errors and gross irregularities in Ilesa East, Ife East,Osogbo,Olorunda,Ayedaade and Boripe Local Governments.As a controversy long hatched ,PDP complaints were ignored as part of pro-APC agenda.”
He however added that, “The level of impunity demonstrated by the electoral umpire in connivance with other federal agencies was unrivalled in Nigerian electoral history. Our party went to the election with only one weapon at our disposal -the unalloyed loyalty and support of Osun people.This was well demonstrated at the polls with our candidate ,Senator Ademola Adeleke widely supported by the people.
“Despite all these malfeasance however, our candidate Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke satisfied the conditions laid down by law to be declared winner of the Governorship election conducted yesterday; having scored the highest number of votes cast and obtained a quarter of votes cast in all 30 local governments of Osun state. We therefore condemn the decision of INEC not to declare our candidate as the winner of the election despite fulfilling all stipulated constitutional and legal requirements.”