Joel Ajayi

The National Leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), has demanded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), review the results of the Kogi governorship election held on the 11th of November and declare the party’s candidate Murtala Ajaka as the fully elected governor of the state.

The national chairman of the  SDP, Shehu Gabam made the demands on behalf of the party at a press conference at the party’s national Secretariat in Abuja on over the weekend.

Addressing newsmen Shehu Gabam said, they were amazed how the umpire who issued two separate press releases later turned around and admitted results over voting, prefilled, and mutilated results.

He noted that INEC must redeem itself by being above board in the Kogi governorship election.

“We therefore seek, the cancelation of polling units affected by overvoting, reverse the observed irregularities, rescind the result declared by the returning officer and declare the proper result, rescind the  erroneous and unlawful return of Ahmed Ododo and declare Murtala Ajaka dully elected as the governor of Kogi State.” He said

To back his demands, he said, “We humbly request the INEC to exercise its rights and obligations under the constitution of Nigeria and the Electoral Act, 2022 to review the earlier result.

“In view of the above, we humbly request the Independent National Electoral Commission to exercise its rights and obligations under the Constitution of Nigeria and the Electoral Act, 2022 to review the earlier incorrect declaration and cancel the results where there had been irregularities and processes contrary to the provisions of the law, regulations, and guidelines, and manual for the election. He demanded

Speaking further he said, “We wish to report even more infractions and infringements in the Kogi State election and therefore wish to request the Chairman to review, in accordance with Section 65(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022, the declaration by Professor Johnson Urama, acting on behalf of INEC.

“We wish to bring the attention of the Honourable Chairman, the following complaints on actions which marred the Kogi election management and were in contravention of Section 51(2) of the Act, 2022 and hence formally request the Commission to make urgent reviews. They are: a. That significantly substantial registered voters with irregular or multiple registration were returned as lawful voters in Okene LG., A similar instance was observed at Okehl, Adavi and Ogori-Magogo, and Ajaokuta LGs.

“Also, activities of INEC functionaries which contravene Section 51(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022 were reported by our Polling Agents who complained strongly at the ways and manners in which Presiding Officers at hundreds of Polling Units carried on; for instance:

Allowing Forms EC8A where total votes cast and rejected votes together were more than the total BVAS accreditation counts physically shown to the Polling Agents. The summation of the Total Valid votes and the Rejected votes written on Form EC8A

exceeded the total votes cast as written on the same Form EC8A Over voting also occurred in some Polling Units where total votes casts exceeded the count of voters in the voters register in the same Polling Unit.”

“That there were areas where voting did not take place at all, and polling agents were chased away and yet the Presiding Officers returned phantom results as lawful vote counts such as in Barilo Ward-1 in Okene LG at Govt. Day Sec. Sch. Irivucheba-l Polling Station 1701-038 where the Presiding Officer scored 400 votes for APC and zero for all the other parties. Even other Parties Polling Agents were not allowed to vote.” He added

He also noted that, Presiding Officers allowed illegal voters who failed accreditation and marked ‘FA on the Voters Register used on the election day to vote contrary to the guidelines and regulations

In nearly all these cases of overvoting and unlawful votes, the records of Forms EC40A, EC408, and EC40C did not match the records or did not correspond with the records put on Forms EC8A as required by the law, regulations, and guidelines. That PVC counts of all those eligible to vote in some Polling Units are less than the Total valid votes cast, even though these PVC counts were actually less than the count of voters registered

“We avow that the irregularities observed in the affected polling units substantially affected the outcome of the election and that but for such irregularities, the outcome would have produced a winner other than Mr Ahmed Usman Ododo of the APC and that

Murtala Ajaka, the candidate of the SDP would have and should have been declared the winner.”

The candidate of the SDP in the Kogi State governorship election, Murtala Ajaka, said he had earlier told the public that he wasn’t going to challenge the declaration of Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress APC by INEC as the elected governor of Kogi State. But had a change of mind from the evidence at hand and pressure from his people.

“Though I already said I wasn’t going to court from pressure from my people we are going to court, we have gathered all the evidence needed to win the case.”

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