The All Progressives Congress, APC, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to cancel the Akoko Northwest Constituency II Assembly’s election.
The APC made the call in a statement signed and made available to NigeriaCheck Newspaper by its Director, Media & Publicity, Steve Otaloro, on Monday.
According to the ruling party, “the House of Assembly election held at Akoko Northwest constituency II is nothing but a fiasco that underscores our democratic norms.”
It noted that it’s an unfair election and it should be canceled by the INEC, immediately.
“The nature, extent, and magnitude of rigging associated with this election is posing a serious threat to the state’s quest for stable socio-economic development and democratic practices as well as the attainment of the long-term goal of a consolidated democracy.
“It is common knowledge that APC enjoys a lot of goodwill in the Northern Senatorial District of the state with the humongous votes given to our candidate and president-elect in the last presidential poll.
“This perhaps was what they envisaged that it will be the same rollercoaster effect for APC coasting home to victory that an arch plan was perfected by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to rig us out of that election.
“What happened on Saturday was voters suppression. It’s a high degree of what constitutes electoral fraud that those responsible should not also go unpunished.
“Thugs were deployed across the four wards in the constituency, Afin, Ogbagi, Irun, and Ifin. They chased away our agents from the polling booths using machetes and other dangerous weapons to deny the people of Akoko North West their right to vote on the day of the election conducted on Saturday 18th March, 2023.”
The statement also stated that election’s observers also confirmed there were reports of election manipulations prompted by thuggery in some areas and ballot-snatching and harassment of INEC officials to comply with their dictates in other areas.
“Let us also reiterate that the on-the-ground observations of the election by INEC officials, all the security apparatus, and team of observers are reliable enough to correlate this report that the purported election that took place at Akoko North/West, Ondo State was a fiasco and a mockery of our democracy.
“We, therefore, urge all our members in Akoko North West to be patient as the electoral process is not yet over. We also encourage the electorate in the Local Government Area to remain peaceful while waiting on INEC to announce the cancellation of the exercise and a new date for the exercise too. They must refrain from any acts that could incite violence.”
The ruling party, however, called on all political leaders to appeal to their supporters, in particular, to calmly await the official position to rectify this anomaly and take appropriate actions against any party members, who engage in violence or incitement to violence.