The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the immediate resignation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, following his alleged controlling role in the fraudulent manipulations that characterized the September 22, 2018, Osun State Governorship election.
The PDP also asked for the head of Mrs. Amina Zakari, the INEC National Commissioner, Supervising Electoral Operations, who is also in charge of Information Communication Technology (ICT) Department, where election results were allegedly altered to favour the APC
The request comes as speculations continue with figures showing that there are only 2323 votes at stake in Osun’s Thursday election and not 3498 as has been widely reported.
The analysis showed that the total number of registered voters in the seven polling units where rerun elections are to be held in Osun State are 3498.
However, as hinted on Channels Television Tuesday by an analyst, Mr. Jide Ojo, the number of voters can only be those who collected their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) by September 19, 2018.
Unconfirmed reports say that only 2323 voters collected their PVCs.
Meantime, in a statement, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP noted that with INEC’s alleged fraudulent conduct in the Osun Governorship election, and approval that a concluded election be declared inconclusive, the PDP and indeed all well-meaning Nigerians no longer have confidence in Prof. Yakubu.
The statement reads further: ” It is completely inexcusable that Prof. Yakubu presides over an atrocious and compromised electoral umpire that manipulates electoral processes, doctors figures, allocates fictitious votes and subverts the will of the people in an election.
“The PDP has additional documentary evidence of how this compromised INEC, through its Operations and ICT Department, doctored results from polling centers, directly shortchanged the PDP with no fewer than 4,387 votes by slashing votes cast for the PDP at the polling centers while allocating fictitious figures to the APC.
“The PDP has facts on how INEC slashed over 1000 votes freely cast by the people for our candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, in Ayedaade Local Government Area, just to reduce our votes from our legitimate 10,836 votes cast at the polling centers to 9,836 votes so as to give APC the lead with a 1000 vote margin in the local government.
“Also, the PDP has evidence of how INEC, while collating results, directly allocated over 1,367 fictitious votes to the APC in Olorunda Local Government Area, to fraudulently shore up the APC votes to duplicitous 16,254 votes. This is in addition to evidence of how INEC awarded over 2,000 fictitious votes in favour of the APC in Oshogbo to push APC’s vote to 23,379 against the actual 21,479 votes scored by the defeated party.
“Such writing of results by INEC in collusion with the APC occurred in many other areas leading to INEC’s ill-fated directives to its junior officials, including the one apprehended in Ayedaade, to destroy results already displayed at polling and collation centers.
“It was after INEC and the APC realized that despite their manipulation of figures, our candidate still scored the highest number of votes, making him the clear winner of the election, that they decided to fraudulently apply unconstitutional grounds to declare the election inconclusive.
“From the facts available to us, INEC robbed our party of over 4,387 votes. Our actual winning margin stands at 4,740 votes against the 353 votes declared by INEC.
“Furthermore, while the PDP, in rejecting INEC’s declaration, is resolute in the decision to seek legal redress and take our mandate, freely given to our candidate by the people of Osun State, our party has also discovered schemes perfected by INEC to rig its planned supplementary election in favour of the APC.
“The PDP is already aware that INEC has increased the original number of voters in the affected polling centers by over 850 so as to expand its latitude to manipulate results with uncollected Permanent Voter Card (PVCs); a development, which further shows INEC’s determination to rig the election for APC.
“The PDP holds that the shenanigan that has characterized the Osun governorship election is a testing measure by the APC in collusion with INEC to rig the 2019 general elections, particularly the Presidential election, which they plan to plunge into similar controversy immediately it becomes obvious that APC is losing.
“Our fear is that such will push our nation into an irretrievable state of anarchy and spell doom to our democracy.
“While Prof. Mahmood Yakubu can no longer be trusted to conduct the 2019 general elections, it is public knowledge that Mrs. Amina Zakari, the INEC National Commissioner, Supervising Electoral Operations is a direct blood relation of Mr. President and as such, we believe that she cannot be an impartial arbiter in an election involving her uncle.
“The PDP therefore calls on all patriotic Nigerians to join in the demand for the resignation of Prof. Yakubu and Mrs. Zakari so as to avert this dangerous path, where INEC is leading our nation.
“As a law abiding and people-oriented political party, all that the PDP is demanding for is the return of our candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, as the duly returned candidate at the September 22, 2018 Osun Governorship Election.
“We call on INEC to guarantee free, fair and credible election at all levels of engagement, as we will not allow unpatriotic individuals to destroy our nation with their inordinate and selfish aspirations.”