Barely one week after the declaration of Dapo Abiodun, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the governorship poll in Ogun state by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Adekunle Akinlade, the closest rival, heads for the Election Petitions Tribunal to challenge the victory.
Recall that Adekunle Akinlade, candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM) contested just concluded governorship poll with Dapo Abiodun of APC, among other contestants, but lost to Abiodun, having polled 222,153 votes as against APC’s Abiodun, who scored 241,670 votes.
APM’s Akinlade had earlier challenged the governorship election results mid way to the declaration of Abiodun as winner by INEC through his campaign’s director general, Sarafa Tunji Ishola, for which he alleged day light robbery and manipulation of election results against APM and its governorship candidate.
But, speaking through a press statement signed and released by his media aide, Azeez Adelani, APM’s Akinlade declared his intent to approach Election Petitions Tribunal to challenge Abiodun’s victory in addition to his planned correspondence to President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osibajo for possible intervention and protection of his Constitutional rights.
Akinlade, who noted that he had directed his legal team to rally US, UK, EU and international organization to deploy their observers to Ogun state in order to be able to follow and record proceedings at the Election Petitions Tribunal, also alleged that “Dapo Abiodun was quoted of boasting that ‘Federal Might’ will be deployed to undermine the tribunal judgement regardless of how credible the APM evidence is.”
Akinlade added, “They stole our APC mandate at the guber primaries on 2nd of Oct. 2018. They brought in armed uniformed men on the night of March 9th 2019, to manipulate and substitute election results, arrest and send APM agents away from collation centres to achieve their plans to rig the election.
“I will formally write Mr. President (H. E. Muhammad Buhari) and Prof. Yemi Oshibajo (VP) on the need to protect my constitutional rights as a supportive citizen who openly endorsed their candidatures and mobilized votes for them during the just concluded Presidential election.
“I have directed my legal team to write the US, UK, EU and other international organisations to send independent observers to monitor the Ogun guber tribunal case because any attempt by anyone or group to manipulate or buy judgement, no matter how highly placed, will be resisted with all means possible.
“I therefore, call on the good people of Ogun State to remain calm and resolute while promising to restore their mandate and put smiles on their faces no matter the cost.”
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
