The Peoples Democratic Party, on Sunday, rejected the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission declaring the All Progressives Congress’ candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the winner of the Ekiti State governorship election.
The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said at a news conference in Abuja that the results declared were concocted by the APC, INEC and security agencies.
Arguing that the Ekiti election results were falsified, Ologbondiyan said it what took place in the state was a daylight robbery, a brazen subversion of the will of the people and direct assault on the nation’s democracy.
The party spokesman said that following the results from the polling centres, the PDP candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, won the election.
Ologbondiyan said, “From the authentic results flowing directly from the polling centers across the state, it is clear that the PDP candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola-Eleka, incontrovertibly won the election, with very comfortable margin over the APC candidate, only for INEC to allow the alteration of results at the collation centres.
“Painfully, the people of Ekiti State were pillaged, openly brutalised, confronted with the worst form of cruelty and intimidation from security agencies, and their mandate, which they freely gave to the PDP, was snatched at ‘gun point’ by enemies of democracy, who are parading themselves as icons of anti-corruption.
“Nigerians are witnesses to all manipulations by the APC, aided by security agencies and compromised INEC officials, to rig the election, particularly, the audacious alteration and substitution of election results in favour of the APC at the collation centers amidst the brutalisation of our agents.
He futher said, “The PDP has the details of all the polling units where we won, mostly with very wide margin ahead of the APC, only for the security agencies to chase away our agents, then aid the alteration and swapping of such results with those smuggled in by the APC at the collation centers.
“We have the detail of the discrepancies between the authentic results from the polling units and the false figures eventually announced by INEC.”
Ologbondiyan noted that the issues the party raised ahead of the election, including the conspiracy between the APC, some compromised INEC officials and security agencies; the importation of thugs from other states by the APC; the use of brute force against PDP members, the falsification and alteration of results in favour of the APC, all manifested in the election.
He alleged that PDP was aware that APC conspired with INEC to bring in card reader machines from Kogi, Lagos, Ondo, Oyo and Ogun states into Ekiti to enable APC members from these states to vote in the Ekiti election with ease.
Ologbondiyan added that the threats by the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole and Fayemi to crush the opposition party and cage Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, were carried out with the full collaboration of security agencies.
He disclosed that PDP has details of how APC state governors and federal ministers diverted huge sums of money from their states and ministries to bribe top officials of INEC, particularly, those in the ICT department as well as security agencies to perfect the brigandage against the people of Ekiti state.
The PDP spokesman said, “This bare-faced subversion of the will of the people is a clear recipe for crisis and we invite Nigerians and the international community to hold President Buhari, the APC, the INEC Chairman and heads of security agencies in Nigeria responsible should there be any breakdown of law and order in Ekiti state as a result of this election.
“This robbery of the franchise of Ekiti people is a horrible rape of our democracy and it is most uncharitable that it could happen under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari as well as the participation of the APC, who hugely benefitted from the credible electoral process midwifed by the PDP in 2015.”
He vowed that such “electoral banditry” would not be allowed to stand, adding that the “PDP is already collating all the infractions in this election and within the possible timeframe, we shall make our next step to reclaim our stolen mandate public.”
Asked whether the PDP would go to court over the results declared by INEC, Ologbondiyan said that the party would disclose its plan soon, adding it would set up a committee to investigate what happened in Ekiti, including the the broadcast made by Governor Ayo Fayose.
He, however, pointed out that the results announced by INEC did not conform to what actually transpired in Ekiti State.
