By The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the re-election of incumbent Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State, describing the victory recorded by the All Progressives Congress candidate in Saturday’s governorship election as a sham.
The PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, made this assertion in a statement released on Sunday in Abuja.
Meanwhile, the ruling APC dismissed the PDP’s claims, accusing the opposition of consistently criticizing both the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) whenever it loses an election.
Governor Aiyedatiwa was declared the winner by INEC after securing victory in all 18 local government areas of the state. Announcing the results, the State Returning Officer, Prof. Olayemi Akinwumi, said APC’s Aiyedatiwa polled 366,781 votes to defeat Agboola Ajayi of the PDP, who got 117,845 votes.
However, Ologunagba kicked, alleging that the result was skewed by the electoral umpire in favor of the governor.
According to him, the poll was marred by vote-buying and intimidation from certain quarters, an act he said is capable of disrupting the country’s democracy if it goes unchecked.
He said, “The PDP and indeed all lovers of democracy in Nigeria and across the world have just witnessed the worst election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The November 16 governorship election runs short of all expectations and requirements of a free, fair and credible election as it witnessed the height of electoral swindle, deceit and manipulation by the APC.
“This election witnessed widespread election merchandising, monetization and barefaced vote buying by the APC and its apparatus in government to suppress the genuine aspiration of the people. This devious practice by the APC was rampant and pervasive because the APC have utterly impoverished Nigerians and turned poverty into a weapon of mass subjugation which enabled it to manipulate the election and its outcome.
“We call the attention of all Nigerians and the International Community to this reprehensible practice by the APC as widely witnessed in Ondo State and we demand that a serious action be taken to stem such if Nigeria’s democracy must survive. In the meantime, the National Working Committee of the PDP will be having a more detailed review of the election outcome and take appropriate action in the defense of our Democracy.
Reacting, the National Publicity Director of the APC, Bala Ibrahim, dismissed the PDP’s allegations as baseless.
Ibrahim argued that the APC was unsurprised by the PDP’s accusations, claiming Nigerians had lost trust in the opposition party. He insisted that the PDP’s reaction was consistent with its pattern of rejecting election results that do not favor it.
He said, “If there is an eclipse of the sun or moon in Nigeria, the PDP will blame it on the APC. Even if there is drought, flood or any natural disaster, they will hold the APC responsible. They are failing to understand that times have changed. Nigerians are now more conscious of their votes and the value of democracy.
“They have now realized that they made a grave mistake by entrusting the PDP to rule the country for 16 years, which resulted in misrule, mismanagement and total disruption of values of the country.
“So, if there is going to be any election, no matter where and time, the PDP will emerge as the loser because Nigerians have lost confidence in them. Why is it that it is only in state they lose that they always lose confidence in INEC?
“But in states where they win, they shower praises and applause on the commission. How can they claim that an election where the governor won by over 200,000 votes was rigged in favor of the APC? If it were a margin of 10 or 50 votes, perhaps there could be a conversation, but not with a difference of over 200,000 votes. The PDP needs to wake up and face reality.”
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be impartial in the conduct of governorship election in Ondo state.
