…as Osun residents protest against guber re-run
A former Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to save the state from unnecessary tension by declaring Senator Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the governorship election held on Saturday.
Oyinlola said in Osogbo on Monday that neither INEC nor any political party had the right to subvert the constitution and the peace of the state.
He said, “INEC’s position is double-standard. The same INEC had returned winners in recent election with similar cases, especially in Kogi and Bauchi states.
“I call on INEC to reverse itself because the constitution and the Electoral Act are very clear on this matter. The winner must be declared forthwith.”
Meanwhile, hundreds of the residents of Osun State, as well as supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday, stormed the headquarters of n Osogbo to protest against the rerun election ordered by the commission after declaring last Saturday’s governorship election inconclusive.
The protesters were not attacked by the armed policemen stationed at the INEC office to prevent the place from being invaded.
The protesters were armed with placards with various inscriptions such as: “No to rerun”, “INEC, don’t conspire with APC”, and “The people spoke on Saturday, announce the result” among others. They sang anti-APC songs as they hurled abuses at the ruling party for allegedly stealing Senator Ademola Adeleke’s mandate.
They berated INEC for not declaring Adeleke the winner of the poll having scored the highest number of votes in the poll. They said INEC colluded with the ruling party to rob Adeleke of victory.
They said the people of the state had spoken with majority of the voters wanting Adeleke as the state governor and that should be respected.
One of the protesters, Adebayo Adisa, said, “The peaceful protest was staged to make INEC prove its integrity. What happened on Saturday and the announcement of Sunday that the election was inconclusive.
“We have already seen the PDP candidate leading with 353 votes, yet he was not declared (winner). In Ekiti, some election results were cancelled but INEC went on to announce Fayemi, even in Kogi State. What we want is our mandate in Osun State.”
Also, Ridwan Abimbola, who is the arrowhead of the students who joined in the protest, said there was a need for President Muhammadu Buhari to wade in on the issue.
