Politics
Segun Oni Rejects Outcome Of Ekiti Governorship Election
The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Segun Oni, has said that the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election is unacceptable and cannot stand.
The spokesman of the Segun Oni Campaign Organisation, Moses Jolayemi, stated on Sunday that the SDP candidate has rejected the outcome of Saturday’s governorship poll.
TrackNews earlier reported that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Biodun Oyebanji, was declared as the winner of Saturday’s election.
Oyebanji polled 187,057 to defeat former governor Oni who scored 82,211, while the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bisi Kolawole scored 67,457.
In a chat with Vanguard on Sunday, Jolayemi stated that the election was marred with vote-buying and other electoral malpractices.
Jolayemi accused the APC of engaging in vote-buying and using political thugs to intimidate voters and harass opposition during the election.
He alleged that security agencies were compromised during the election and INEC officials were also culpable because the arrangement of the polling booth and the ballot boxes was awkward.
He said: “The outcome is unacceptable by us as a party because it is a travesty of democracy, it is a rape on democracy and clear daylight robbery, the APC has taken advantage of the peoples’ pathetic state of poverty and that is why you see that the APC refused to campaign. They were not going round doing rallies; we were the ones campaigning because they knew what they wanted to do.
“Their strategy was simple: buy these peoples’ votes and that is why they kept the people in perpetual poverty so that they can be of use every four years.
“They know that it is difficult for someone who is very hungry to resist cash. Some of them have children that are of voting age; some have four children plus their wife and themselves. If you multiply N5000 by six, it gives you N30,000, which is a huge amount for these people.
“To make this kind of money huge and important, that is why they (APC) have kept them in that financial bondage.
“In the United States of America, for example, it will be foolhardy for anyone o envelope $10 or $20 for people to vote. They will be asking you if you are okay or if you have not gone crazy because what are they going to do with it?
“The basic things of life have been taken care of by the government but here, their dignity is already taken off them with the way the APC has kept them.
“The security agencies compromised. The see and buy thing was going on while the security agencies looked the other way. INEC is also culpable because the arrangement of the polling booth and the ballot boxes was awkward. You wonder why this should be so. The election may appear free but it was not fair.
“It was not free of violence anyway because the third thing they did, was to make use of their thugs. We have videos of some of their thugs snatching ballot boxes. What did the security agents do, they looked the other way.”
Jolayemi, however, said the SDP candidate will not concede defeat and congratulate anyone until the party leaders meet to take the necessary steps.
He said: “The decision will be taken in the next few hours. We are going to meet but the central message here is that this election is rejected. Segun Oni is not accepting the results, he is not conceding and he is not congratulating anybody because this is not an election”
-
Politics5 days ago
South-South Govs Meet In Yenagoa, Urge FG To Review Power Situation
-
Politics6 days ago
Kogi gov, Ododo used immunity to protect Yahaya Bello from EFCC arrest – Oshiomhole
-
Business5 days ago
Why CBN Banned Opay, Palmpay, Kuda Bank, Moniepoint From Boarding New Customers
-
Politics5 days ago
Former IYC Scribe Congratulates Hon. Maxwell Ebibai on Reappointment as Bayelsa Commissioner for Finance.
-
Entertainment6 days ago
‘Disrespectful’ – Mr Macaroni slams Wizkid for shading Don Jazzy
-
Niger Delta5 days ago
RE: PROTEST AGAINST PAP BOSS DR DENNIS OTUARU, AN UNNECESSARY DISTRACTION THAT SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY.
-
Politics5 days ago
Hon. Alapala Felicitates with Commissioners for successful inauguration and thank the governor for their appointments.
-
News2 days ago
Attack on nurse: Enugu Assembly moves to regulate activities of masquerades