The Labour Party (LP) in Ogun State has issued warning to the Independent National Electoral Commission not to issue a certificate of return to the incumbent governor of the state, Dapo Abiodun.
LP requested INEC to conduct a rerun of the governorship election held in the state on March 18, expressing disapproval at Abiodun’s victory.
The INEC returning officer for the governorship and state assembly election in the state, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, on Sunday, declared Governor Abiodun of the as the winner. After he polled 276,298 votes, while Ladi Adebutu of the Peoples Democratic Party polled 262,383 votes.
LP in it’s statement described Abiodun’ win as a result of disrupted election and the election should thus be declared inconclusive.
The statement read,
“The Labour Party as a coalition partner with the PDP in the gubernatorial election totally condemns the declaration of Abiodun as the winner of the election. “The election should have been declared as inconclusive and a rerun conducted in areas where voting was disrupted by APC thugs,”.
The Labour Party’s candidate, Kehinde Sogunle, stated that if the commission should award certificate of return to Abiodun it would amount to a rape of democracy.
He said,
“Awarding Dapo Abiodun a certificate of return with the glaring fraud that characterised the election will amount to a rape of Democracy.
“The Labour Party is also not unmindful of the dastardly role of the Ogun state government in creating discord, acrimony and disunity within the Labour Party and its clandestine role in thwarting the nomination and listing of the candidates of the Labour Party to contest elective offices in the last election in Ogun state.”
The APC’s State Publicity Secretary, Tunde Oladunjoye, noted that the election was largely peaceful and it reflected the wishes of the good people of Ogun State.
He said,
“we all witnessed how these desperate politicians band their gullible followers, bent on wrestling power by force, broke all rules of civility and violated electoral guidelines with reckless abandon.” “Our party, the All Progressives Congress, not only won the election with majority votes but also won in 12 of the 20 Local Government Areas in Ogun State. In addition, our party won 17 out of the 26 State House of Assembly constituency seats.”
