FOCUS•Offa LG rerun polls: PDP candidate denounces victory.Read more here>>> It was like a scene out of a movie Wednesday as Mr Jimoh Afolabi Olawole, a councillorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was declared winner of last Saturday’s rerun polls by the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC) in Shao South-West ward of Offa Local Government Area in the state, denounced his victory. Speaking at a press conference in Offa yesterday, Olawole said: “I cannot take what does not belong to me because the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the ward, Hon. Adefioye Kayode won the election.” He said: “I want to tell the whole world that in all the eight polling units of Sawo South-West Ward of Offa local government council of Kwara State, the PDP lost the ward, while the APC won the ward in a landslide victory during the re-run poll.” According to him, of the 1,542 votes cast at the ward during the re-run, the APC scored 1,171 votes, while PDP polled 361 votes. Olawale added that “As a son of Offa, I can’t sacrifice my conscience for any electoral victory. The state independent electoral body should release the authentic results of the election to the real winner of the re-run poll in person of APC in my ward.” He said: “It is only three years, if there is going to be change in Offa, it has to be gradual because the people of Offa want APC and should be given to them without further delay.” Also yesterday, a Presiding Officer during the election, Mr. Oyetunji Akeem, said: “The election declared at polling 006 unit of Shawo Central ward by the state electoral body was fake.” According to him, “We accredited 237 voters during the re run election, out of which 206 came for voting.” He said out of the 206 voters that came to vote, the APC had 130 votes, PDP polled 73 votes for the chairmanship poll, while in the councillorship poll, APC polled 132 votes and PDP polled 67 votes. “I can say it anywhere that the results released by the state’s electoral body was doctored and fake and this is not good for nation’s democracy,” he added. On his part, the former chairman of Offa Local Government Area, Mr Saheed Popoola, of the APC, also called on all stakeholders to appeal to KWASIEC to release the “authentic” results, which he claimed he won, with all the councillors of the party. Popoola also said he would do everything possible within the ambit of law and democratic rights to retrieve this mandate and exercise it to the benefit of the people of Offa and to the glory of God. “We shall not rest, we shall not sleep and we will not be tired, until the people’s mandate is respected and the rightful candidate is sworn in. “It is going to be struggle, but we are ready for it in the most decent manner. We have petitioned Radio Kwara for breaching the electoral laws by announcing the results when it should be announced at the polling centres. “We have also petitioned KWASIEC for making itself an appendage of the PDP. In the next one month, I can say that we will get them out of that place by all legal means, because the place does not belong to them.” Meanwhile, the chairman, PDP Offa, Mr Goke Rabiu, said Olawole, who claims to be PDP councillorship candidate for Shao South-West was dropped before the election, because he was not part of those who secured a court judgement for a rerun. “In fact, he had since joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) and was part of their pre-election rally,” he said. The announcement from KWASIEC that PDP won the election had been trailed by protests across Offa.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 06:06:15 +0000
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