PDP Calls Ondo Election ‘A Sham,’ Says It’s Reviewing Poll Results
The Peoples Democratic Party has attacked the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) conduct of the Ondo State governorship election on Saturday, calling it ‘a fraud’.
The opposition party issued a statement on Sunday, signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, stating that it is examining the poll results.
According to INEC’s report, PDP candidate Agboola Ajayi trailed the winner, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC), by 117,845 votes.
The opposition party described the poll as the worst conducted by INEC.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted the worst election that the Peoples Democratic Party, and indeed all lovers of democracy in Nigeria and around the world, have ever witnessed.”
“The November 16, 2024, governorship election in Ondo State runs short of all expectations and requirements of a free, fair, and credible election as it witnessed the height of electoral swindle, deceit, and manipulation by the All Progressives Congress (APC),” a statement said in part.
The PDP also accused the APC of massive vote buying, claiming that it was endemic since the ruling party impoverished Nigerians.
During this election, the APC and its government apparatus engaged in widespread electoral retailing, monetisation, and blatant vote buying in order to stifle people’s true desires.
“This devious practice by the APC was rampant and pervasive, as it utterly impoverished Nigerians and turned poverty into a weapon of mass subjugation, enabling it to manipulate the election and its outcome.”
“We demand serious action to stem this reprehensible practice by the APC, as widely witnessed in the November 16, 2024, governorship election in Ondo State, if Nigeria’s democracy is to survive.”
“In the meantime, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP will conduct a more detailed review of the election and its outcome, and take appropriate action to defend our democracy.”