Unity Party of Nigeria has expressed it’s displeasure over the Local Government election which was conducted on Saturday,October 8, 2016. The party accused the Ogun state government of rigging the election in order to favour Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s plan to run for the senatorial sit in 2019, after he must have completed his term as the Governor of the state.
In a statement released by the Ogun state Chairman of the Party, Mrs Olufunmilayo Oginni, she described the act as barbaric and ridiculous and also accused the body in charge of elections in the state, OGSIEC of forming alliance with APC Government to rig the election.
In her words,
‘’We are sad and shocked to announce to the world that the Local Government election held on Saturday October 8, 2016 in Ogun state was obviously rigged by the governor of Ogun state, Senator Ibikunle Amosun and his political party, All Progressive Congress APC.
The governor, who wishes to contest for the senatorial seat in 2019, knows that if he loses at the Local government election, his ambition will be shattered. This made him to turn the election into shedding of blood of some of our members and also sent his political thugs to hijack ballot boxes in some parts of the state.
The election which the Ogun state Independent Electoral Commission OGSIEC under the leadership of one of the APC members, Alhaja Risikat Iyabo Ogunfemi had promised that the election will be free and fair. But reverse is the case because the OGSIEC failed to perform their basic duties and OGSIEC was part of the enemy use by the governor against our party, UPN.
It is ridiculous, barbaric and a thing that saddens the heart, that the commissioner of police who has promised us before the election that he will make sure the election is free and fair also allowed his boys (POLICEMEN) to be used as APC thugs in the election whereby our candidates are being assaulted, detained, beaten and shot by the police.
Security agencies whose responsibility is to protect voters were the one shooting continuously in other to create fear in the mind of voters so that when voters run away, they can have the opportunity to take the ballot box which is not meant to be so.
Also, our members were detained unlawfully by the police because they insisted that their votes must be counted in their presence. This is illegal and denial of our civil right.
Furthermore, our agents were not allowed to follow their votes to collations centers and were denied entry even where they managed to get to the collations centers, because they plan to add more votes for APC candidates secretly. These acts by OGSIEC nullify the election because it is the right of all agents to be with the ballot boxes until the election has been counted and signed by them.
This attitude of OGSIEC shows that they are not capable to conduct a free and fair election. They also denied our candidates and voters the right to know the result at each polling unit at the polling centres.
The result announced by OGSIEC chairman was written, because there is no recorded fact for all the result been announced. There are some parts where election did not hold, but result was later announced by OGSIEC. Where did the OGSIEC get the result they announce for those affected areas?
For example, it was announced that APC has 12,580 votes in Ogun waterside local government which was a big lie because there was no election materials in all the 112polling units and nobody voted in Ogun waterside. Where did OGSIEC get the result they announce?
The display by OGSIEC is civil and political rascality, this makes the October 8 election to be controversial, questionable, and very strange in the history of nascent democratic political history.
OUR DEMANDS
The Chairman of OGSIEC announced the result of the Chairmanship election on Sunday at OGSIEC secretariat, but it was so unfortunate that UPN was not included in the result announced. For this, we seek that the OGSIEC should include our name in the result even if we have only one vote. And we are also asking for the valid result signed by our agents within the next 72hours. We want OGSIEC to do a review of the Saturday election within the next 48hours.
We are using this medium to call on the state commissioner of police to release our members being detained by policemen and also tell his boys to stop threatening our members in the state because we all have right to freedom of movement.
However, if we did not get due response from OGSIEC before the stipulated time, we will call for annulment of the election. And UPN will take a drastic step by charging OGSIEC to court of law for failing to fulfill their basic responsibility in conducting a free and fair election.
We call on our supporters to be patient because we are going to any length in making sure our mandate is protected and secure. We also use this medium to appreciate the massive support given to us by them and we promise to always have interest of the masses in our heart.
Signed
Olufunmilayo Oginni Iredee Gbenga Agu
The State Chairman of Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) State Secretary