The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday called for the immediate resignation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu and the Director of Operations, Amina Zakari following their controlling role in the fraudulent manipulations that characterised the September 22, 2018, Osun State governorship election.
In the same vein, the PDP also called for the resignation of Mrs. Amina Zakari, the INEC Director of Operations, who is also in charge of Information Communication Technology (ICT) Department, where election results were altered to favour the APC
With INEC’s fraudulent conduct in the Osun governorship election, and approval that a concluded election be declared inconclusive, the PDP and indeed all well-meaning Nigerians no longer have confidence in Prof. Yakubu.
It is completely inexcusable that Prof. Yakubu presides over an atrocious and compromised electoral umpire that manipulates electoral processes, doctors figures, allocates fictitious votes and subverts the will of the people in an election.
The PDP has additional documentary evidence of how this compromised INEC, through its Operations and ICT Department, doctored results from polling centers, directly shortchanged the PDP with no fewer than 4,387 votes by slashing votes cast for the PDP at the polling centers while allocating fictitious figures to the APC.
The PDP has facts on how INEC slashed over 1000 votes freely cast by the people for our candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, in Ayedaade Local Government Area, just to reduce our votes from our legitimate 10,836 votes cast at the polling centers to 9,836 votes so as to give APC the lead with a 1000 vote margin in the local government.
Also, the PDP has evidence of how INEC, while collating results, directly allocated over 1,367 fictitious votes to the APC in Olorunda Local Government Area, to fraudulently shore up the APC votes to duplicitous 16,254 votes. This is in addition to evidence of how INEC awarded over 2,000 fictitious votes in favour of the APC in Oshogbo to push APC’s vote to 23,379 against the actual 21,479 votes scored by the defeated party.
Such writing of results by INEC in collusion with the APC occurred in many other areas leading to INEC’s ill-fated directives to its junior officials, including the one apprehended in Ayedaade, to destroy results already displayed at polling and collation centers.
It was after INEC and the APC realized that despite their manipulation of figures, our candidate still scored the highest number of votes, making him the clear winner of the election, that they decided to fraudulently apply unconstitutional grounds to declare the election inconclusive.
From the facts available to us, INEC robbed our party of over 4,387 votes. Our actual winning margin stands at 4,740 votes against the 353 votes declared by INEC.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing Kano Central Senatorial District and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic, PDP, Senator Rabi’u Kwankwaso, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to be fair in the conduct of the Thursday’s rerun election in Osun State.
The presidential aspirant warned that any form of conspiracy against Senator Ademola Adeleke of the PDP would be resisted.
Kwankwaso in a statement by his Media Aide, Binta Spikin said, “It is important that we stay strong and stand by Senator Adeleke and our great party, PDP, on Thursday.
“Let me also make this clear that we will resist any form of conspiracy against our candidate.
“I am calling on INEC to be just, fair and transparent.”
Recall that INEC declared Osun election inconclusive after difference between the two leading parties, the PDP and the All Progressives Congress, was lower than the number of the votes cancelled.
Adeleke of PDP from the collation of all the results from the 30 council areas of the state, had 254,698 while the candidate of APC, Gboyega Oyetola, polled 254,345.
Moreso, a stalwart of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, in Abia State and former Umuahia North local government council boss, Barrister Suleiman Ukandu, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC, to save Nigeria from total anarchy by conducting transparent elections come 2019.
Recall that INEC declared Osun election inconclusive after the difference between the two leading parties, the PDP and the All Progressives Congress, was lower than the number of the votes cancelled.
He frowned at the action of the electoral body in the inconclusive governorship election held in Osun last weekend, warning that the results earlier announced by the commission which showed PDP candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, leading the APC governorship candidate, Gboyega Oyetola, must not be altered.
Ukandu who is also a member of the Abia state Advisory Council, spoke with newsmen yesterday, while reacting on the sincerity of INEC in conducting credible election in the country, sayong,” INEC should stick strictly with the process. They should not be partisan as an unbiased umpire. They already know the winner of Osun election. INEC knows in their retrospect who won the election.
“They should go ahead and do the needful. They should go ahead and rebuild the confidence of Nigerians in them. Because, people do not have confidence, especially in this present INEC leadership that has cousins and brothers as INEC commissioners.
“They should do what Nigerians want. INEC should show us that they are ready and prepared for the 2019 general elections.
“So, it is left for them to convince the entire world that despite all the suspicions, misgivings and disbelief, people have in the composition of the current INEC, that they are there for the interest of the country, they are there for the interest of good governance,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate for the Osun State governorship election, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has appealed to the electorates not to be afraid to vote for him on Thursday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had last Saturday declared Osun election inconclusive after the difference between the two leading parties, the PDP and the All Progressives Congress, was lower than the number of the votes cancelled.
The Senator in a recent video appreciated Osun electorates for voting for him in the Saturday’s election.
He, however, called on them to persevere and ensure they come out enmasse again on Thursday to vote for him..
“Thank you Osun people for putting APC to shame despite all their powers.
“Do not be tired, do not be afraid to vote again and come out in numbers on Thursday.
“We must make Osun great again,” Adeleke said in a video while speaking in Yoruba language.
The rerun will hold on Thursday in the state.
However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has raised a fresh alarm on the alleged covert move to doctor the voters’ register against tomorrow’s rerun election in Osun State.
The Zonal Secretary, PDP South West, Rev. Bunmi Jenyo disclosed this in a chat with newsmen at Ede, Osun State.
He further alleged that concerted efforts are ongoing to disenfranchise voters of PDP affiliations.
“Just today, an APC member was busted at Kasorock Hotel opposite Moye oil, Osogbo, one Hon. Tayo, a councillor at the Osogbo ward five was caught working on INEC Voters’ register, altering figures, data, images, and names.
“Vigilant members of the public swooped on the devil element who is working to subvert the will of the people.
“We would have thought this was impossible, but we remember very well that this occurred at Egbedore(ward 10, unit 2, 4, 6.8, and 71) and Ifedayo, where hundreds of voters were disenfranchised.
“We call on INEC to immediately restore the sanctity of voters register for Osogbo and Orolu. We will not accept usage of doctored register for the rerun”, Jenyo asserted.
He reeled out several discrepancies in the result figures released by INEC, alleging that the mathematical error in the compilation of results was a deliberate act to favour the APC.
“We subsequently call on INEC to immediately restore the correctness of their records, as the records are fraught with multiple errors which question the integrity of the personnel and the outputs.”
In the mean time, the missions of the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States have reacted to the inconclusive Osun governorship election.
EU, UK and US noted they also observed the voting in Osun State on September 22.
Their joint statement was made available to newsmen, yesterday afternoon by the Information Officer of the US Embassy Public Affairs Section.
It reads: “We commend the people of Osun for voting peacefully, the Independent National Electoral Commission for the improved organisation of the election, and security services for their conduct.
“We urge that all continue to support a peaceful, free, fair, and credible completion of the process as INEC re-runs the election in seven polling units where — through no fault of their own — voters were not able to cast their votes and have them counted last Saturday.
“We stress the importance that the re-run should take place without any violence, intimidation, or vote buying.
“Whoever wins the election after Thursday’s vote should be magnanimous in victory, and whoever loses should be gracious in defeat,” the statement added.