The Allied Peoples Movement, APM on Sunday reacted to the last Saturday Governorship elections result so far announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The campaign Director-General of the APM, Sarafa Tunji Ishola, who spoke alongside Akinlade at the party’s secretariat at Leme, Abeokuta, alleged that the election was manipulated.
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PRESS CONFERENCE BY CHIEF SARAFA TUNJI-ISOLA, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE ALLIED PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT (APM) CAMPAIGN ORGANISATION, OGUN STATE, ON THE GOVERNORSHIP AND HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS IN OGUN STATE, HELD ON 10 MARCH, 2019.*
Gentlemen of the press
It is with great concern for the future of democracy in our dear country and the future of Ogun State that I address the people of Ogun State this afternoon.
Yesterday, in the 20 local government areas of Ogun State, our people trooped out in large numbers to exercise their right to choose the governor of the state and members of the State House of Assembly.
The exercise which started on a peaceful note was disrupted as the counting of votes were being completed by hoodlums and unidentified uniformed men who hijacked the process and went ahead to collate falsified results sheets in many local council areas including Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North, Odeda, Ifo, Obafemi/Owode and particularly all the local government areas in all parts of the Ogun East Senatorial District. In local government areas like Sagamu, Odogbolu and Ogun Waterside that were won by the APM, the results were changed to deny our party its well-deserved victory. In other local governments won by the APC, the figures were altered to increase the margin between the APC and the APM. The disruptions were clearly designed to ensure that the APM does not meet the required constitutional requirement of 25 percent of votes in the council areas of Ogun East Senatorial District and to suppress the electoral strength of the APM in Ogun Central Senatorial District where the party clearly enjoys superior strength. In the night, some armed men purportedly working for a top Federal Government official from Ogun State went round many of the local government areas, hijacked result sheets and forced party agents to sign already-filled result sheets under duress.
These infractions are against the provisions of the constitution of Nigeria and the electoral act. The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) made a formal protest on these infractions to the Resident Electoral Commission of INEC in Ogun State as reports from our agents across the state revealed these atrocities. We requested that INEC should investigate these infractions and suspend the announcement of the purported results of the elections pending the completion of such investigation. We were surprised that the INEC went ahead this morning to announce the disputed results from many of the local government areas.
I hereby, on behalf of the APM, formally reject the collation process that was hijacked and compromised because it did not reflect the wishes of the people of Ogun State as freely expressed in 09 March 2019 Governorship and House of Assembly elections. The APM wishes to put INEC on notice that we shall explore every means within the provisions of the constitution and the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to challenge this miscarriage of justice. We shall also ensure that the wishes of the people of Ogun State as freely expressed at the polls are protected.
I wish to thank members of the press for attending this event. Thank you.
Signed
CHIEF SARAFA TUNJI-ISOLA
DIRECTOR GENERAL
ALLIED PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT (APM) CAMPAIGN ORGANISATION
OGUN STATE
10 March, 2019.
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