Accord in Ogun has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of violating the Electoral Act by declaring Gov. Dapo Abiodun as the winner of Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
Consequently, it has called on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to reverse Abiodun’s declaration.
Secretary of the party in the state, Rotimi Oke, in a statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta on Tuesday, described INEC’s declaration of Abiodun as “an act of wickedness and a broad daylight robbery.”
The INEC had on Sunday, declared Abiodun the winner of the election after polling 276,298 votes, with Ladi Adebutu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) trailing behind with 262,383 votes.
Oke said that INEC should have declared the election inconclusive and ordered a re-run at the polling units where elections were reportedly disrupted by thugs.
He further stated that the total number of registered voters in polling units where results were cancelled was more than the margin of lead between Abiodun and Adebutu.
He said, “The declaration, was not in compliance with the provision Sections 24(2),(3),(4) and (5) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
“This is because the total number of registered voters in the cancelled areas is substantial to the slim margin between Abiodun and his contender, PDP’s Ladi Adebutu.
“Lawfully, INEC should have declared the election inconclusive and ordered a rerun at the affected polling units.
“That simply means, since the number of registered voters in the cancelled areas outweighs the slim margin between the winner and runner-up, a winner shouldn’t have been announced but a rerun.
“Therefore, INEC’s declaration of Dapo Abiodun is a gross violation of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
Oke called on the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to reverse the declaration.
“It is a blatant abuse of the electoral process and the law, and such impunity must not be allowed to stay,” he said.
