OSUN GUBER: INEC, PDP disagree over alleged creation of illegal polling units

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have clashed over an allegation that the electoral body has created illegal polling units to aid rigging in today’s governorship election in Osun State.

The PDP through its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan alleged, at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, that the creation of the illegal polling units by INEC was in order to rig the election for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) but the electoral body dismissed the allegation, asking the public to disregard it.

Ologbondiyan said the APC in connivance with INEC‎ was creating illegal polling units and delineating illegal wards across the federation.

Read also: #Osundecides: APC, PDP, SDP, others battle to produce next governor (Updates here)

“It will interest you to know that just as we are preparing ‎for the Osun election, we have been able to burst one of those fictitious electoral wards created for APC to rig‎ election.

“Ila Local Government has 11 electoral wards, but ahead of tomorrow’s election, INEC has created an imaginary 12 wards for Ila and allocated over 4,000 votes for that ward, and that ward is called Iperin‎.

“What they have done is to create two wards in Iperin‎, instead of one; allocated votes for both wards including the original ward and the fictitious ward.”

According to Ologbondiyan, if INEC was delineating constituency, where two or three wards shares name, they would give it numeral figures; “like this Iperin, would have been Iperin 1 and Iperin 2,‎ but what we have in this situation is Iperin, Iperin.

“Whereas INEC recognised 11 wards in that local government. What we have had now is 11 wards‎

“And to also showcase the fact that this is a deliberate plot, we discovered that the figures allocated to the two Iperin wards are different ‎, one has over 4,000 votes, the other has over 2,000 votes.

“In all, where they would have had 2,000 votes, they want to generate 6,000 votes. We are not yet aware of the number of local government where this is currently ‎happening.”

The PDP spokesman demanded that INEC should make an outright withdraw of fictitious electoral wards from its database.

“We have also directed our members to continue to monitor the devious plans of APC and INEC‎ during Osun election.

“The PDP will not accept any result that come from Iperin if INEC insist on allowing votes in the two Iperin ward‎s.”

Ologbondiyan vowed that the PDP was determined in the Osun election to dismantle all the rigging plans and all the rigging plots ahead of the 2019 general elections.

“Our men are on the street of the entire Osun and we are also collaborating with Civil Society Oganisations, who were determined to ensure a clean, clear, free electioneering process,” he said.

Reacting to the allegation, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi said it was a baseless and false alarm.

“The Commission hereby urges the general public, especially the good people of Osun state to disregard the baseless allegations and false alarm made and raised by the PDP.

“The Commission also wishes to reiterate its determination to ensure that only the votes of the Osun state people, as would be freely expressed in Saturday’s governorship election, will determine who becomes the next governor of the state,” Oyekanmi said.

 

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