The resident electoral commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Osun state, Segun Agbaje, has clarified the controversy surrounding the election result of Ayedaade local government area in the governorship election.
CKN News recalls that an INEC official identified as Mutiu Salawu had been assaulted by a mob for allegedly tearing election result at St. Patrick Grammar School, Gbongan.
In a video which went viral, Salawu was heard saying a senior official of the commission asked him to tear the sheet.
INEC Electoral officer. Source: Twitter.
Salawu’s action sparked a controversy, as some activists and groups asked INEC to prosecute him.
Agbaje said the sheet had an erroneous result and that the INEC official was acting on a directive to replace it with the correct one when he was caught.
He said the local government security chief had informed Aderinoye Olukemi, an electoral officer for Ayedaade, of the error on the form pasted at the collation centre and that she handed down the instruction afterwards.
According to Agbaje, the action of Salawu did not affect the result collated at the INEC head office, affirming that Dele Adeleke, agent of the PDP at the state collation centre, attested to the fact that the result announced tallied with what he recorded ahead of the announcement.
He said, “Let me at this juncture put the record straight and inform the good people of Osun State and Nigerians, the correct position of the event.
“The LGA Collation Officer Prof. Adeagbo accepted the fact that there was an error in the EC 60 (E) pasted at the LGA Collation Centre especially the figure (10,836) recorded for PDP on the poster which is different from the actual votes scored (9,836) by the PDP.
“It should be noted that the INEC staff, Salawu, Mutiu Kolawole did not destroy the Result Sheet for the said election for they are intact in the custody of the Commission and copies of same are with agents of the 48 Political Parties that contested the Governorship Election.
“The Commission is displeased with the conduct of a section of the press that repeatedly broadcast the event maliciously without proper investigation to know the true position of things. This attitude has misinformed the public and INEC has been misrepresented in the narrative.”
Agbaje also went into details on the polling units where the rerun election would hold on Thursday.
“In Adereti Village, there was disruption of election by hoodlums who shot sporadically and in the process of scampering for safety, the Presiding Officer misplaced the form EC8A for the PU and all efforts to get it proved abortive,” he said.
“Ife South Osi Ward 8 PU10, Aluti Erin Primary School, Albert village, election was conducted with manual accreditation.
“In Orolu Ward 08 PU001, Kajola village, there was hijacking of materials by thugs. The case was not different in Ward 08 PU004 Idi Iya village and Ward 09 PU 003 Gbogbo Primary School in Orolu. Presiding Officer absconded in Osogbo Ataoja Ward 05 PU 017 Adewole Street.
“The total number of registered voters in these places is 3,498.”
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