The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has declined to accept the outcome of the result of the just concluded Ondo State governorship election, saying the exercise was rigged before it was conducted.
The Publicity Director of the party in the state, Ayodele Fadaka, who was reacting to the results on Sunday, said INEC connived with some powerful persons in the country to rig election.
The Returning Officer of the election and Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Abdul-Ganiyu Ambali, had declared the All Progressives Congress candidate, Rotimi Akeredolu, as winner of the governorship election.
Mr. Akeredolu polled a total of 244, 842, to defeat the PDP candidate, Eyitayo Jegede, who rallied 150, 380 votes to place second in the race.
“In spite of the national orientation of the Federal Government, buying voters is the highest form of corruption that this government portends to be fighting day in day out and we see that corruption is getting entrenched by the day more and more,” Mr. Fadaka said.
“The PDP failed this election simply because INEC and some other interest groups decided it will fail.”
He alleged that the processes that led to the election amounted to rigging, saying INEC need not hold the election when it knew that the name of the PDP candidate was unjustifiably removed from the list of candidates.
According to him, INEC had up till January to hold the election, and should have postponed it, but chose to go ahead with it because it planned to ensure the PDP failed in the election.
“I will say that powerful interest in this country, working hand in gloves with INEC decided to do us in this election, they decided and desired and they have achieved their aim to hand over our party to PAC,” he said.
Asked if his party accepted the results,” Mr. Fadaka said, ” My answer is neither here nor there,” stressing that the election came hastily despite the travails of the party in court.
“There is no democracy in this game, there is no fairness and there is no equity in what we have see and what has just happened here,” he said.
But the representative of the candidate of the APC, Benson Enikuomehim, said the party praised the effort of INEC in the conduct of the election.
He said Mr. Akeredolu would use the mandate judiciously to serve the people of Ondo State.
He said although the election had some issues, it substantially complied with the electoral laws.
He said Mr. Akeredolu expressed his satisfaction with the election and extended his hands of fellowship to other candidates who contested against him.
Also, the APC Publicity Secretary in Ondo State, said in a statement made available on Sunday in Akure that there was prompt arrival and delivery of electoral materials to the 3,009 polling units across the state.
He applauded the simultaneous accreditation and voting system adopted by INEC as landmark, saying it was largely responsible for the absence of electoral malpractice and violence.
Mr. Adesanya said that the election was unprecedentedly peaceful, free and fair in the history of the state.
The publicity secretary, therefore, commended the good people of Ondo State for their peaceful conduct before, during and after the election.
According to him, the electorate remained calm in the face of provocations, intimidation, harassment and the clamour for the repeat of the 1983 violence in the state, where scores of people were killed.
He praised the professionalism of all security agencies before, during and after the poll.
“We specially commend the sacrifices of the security agents that were deployed to various parts of Ondo State and therefore wish them journey mercies to their various states,” he said.
Mr. Adesanya assured the people of the state that “the government of Ondo State under the leadership of the governor-elect would be a regime of a new dawn where indices and traces of dictatorship, tyranny and corruption shall have no breathing space.”
(NAN)