Lawyers give INEC 6-day ultimatum to review Ogun Guber polls as Adebutu leads protest to INEC office
A group of lawyers, under the aegis of Concerned Indigenes of Ogun State (CIOS) on Tuesday gave the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) a six-day ultimatum to review the declaration of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dapo Abiodun as the winner of Saturday’s election in the State.
The group issued the ultimatum in an open petition to INEC, saying the declaration of Abiodun was against the requirements and provisions of the electoral act.
Also hundreds of members of the PDP, led by their governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu had stormed INEC office in the state to submit a petition, demanding re-run elections at polling units where elections were cancelled on Saturday.
The protesters who were chanting anti INEC songs were armed with placards with inscriptions such as: “INEC should save our democracy”, “INEC betrayed the people of Ogun”, “Electoral fraud will not stand”, INEC should respect people’s wish”, “INEC should stop being biased” and “Ogun election was inconclusive, INEC correct yourself”, among others.
It could be recalled that INEC had on Sunday declared Abiodun the winner of the election after polling 276,298 votes, while Ladi Adebutu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 262,383 votes to come second.
But, addressing journalists in Abeokuta, the state capital, the coordinator of group of lawyers, Barrister Femi Oniyide alleged that, the election was fraught with violence, manipulation and irregularities.
According to him, election results from 100 polling units in 14 local government areas of the State were either cancelled or election not held due to violence and BVAS malfunctioning.
He alleged that, “31,000 voters were disenfranchised due to violence, ballot box snatching and burning of ballot papers with non use of BVAS.”
Oniyide said, the State Returning Officer, Prof. Kayode Adebowale acted with impunity by not obeying the law guiding the declaration of a candidate as the winner of an election.
According to him, “the margin between the votes of the APC candidate and the voters disenfranchised through cancellation is so huge and should not have been overlooked by the presiding officer.”
He said, the Returning Officer should have declared the election inconclusive in line with Section 24 subsections 3, 4 and 5 of the electoral act, 2022.
Oniyide said, “We demand by this open petition, that INEC should within six days from today, the 21st of March, 2023 review the ultra vires declaration and return of Professor Kayode Adebowale, the Returning Officer in the governorship election of Ogun State made on Sunday, the 19th of March, 2023 against the requirements and provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.
In the protest led by Adebutu, the protesters were denied access into INEC by heavily armed security operatives.
The security operatives, comprising military personnel, policemen and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) shot sporadically into the air to disperse the protesters.
Addressing journalists at the entrance of the INEC office, Adebutu insisted that, they would not leave until officials of the electoral commission attend to them.
Adebutu said, the party had submitted several protest letters to the commission demanding the review of the results of the Saturday’s election and re-run where elections were either cancelled or disrupted.
He said, it was regrettable that, security agencies were being used against the wish of the people, warning that the development could degenerate into another #Endsars protest.
Adebutu said, “We are here to protest, but unfortunately we have been confronted by the Nigerian Army, shooting sporadically to the air, in the hope that they will disperse us, but we are resolute, we are going to stay here until we are addressed by officials of INEC.
“Our contention is that the measures by which other states have been treated and they are allowed to have venoms, Ogun State should be measured in the same vein.
“Adamawa has runup, similarly, Kebbi has runup, why is Ogun State being denied runup? We are not particular about whatever interest is guiding this, we are only asking for our rights.
“We have submitted several letters protesting this decision and we are asking that these gentlemen allow us access to INEC to submit an additional letter, but unfortunately we don’t understand what is happening, rather than allow us access, they are shooting sporadically in the air in the hope of scaring us away and we are not going to be scared Bea sue this is our fundamental human right …a democratic process, pease beg them we don’t want another #Endsars, we don’t want another bloodshed in Ogun State, please beg them for us. It is our right that we should protest and exercise our right.
“We are entitled to runups by all the rules that govern this election, we must exercise and protest to INEC that Ogun State deserves runups, allow us admittance to see the authorities concern.”
