Ondo governorship election a “poor excuse for democracy” – CUPP

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has dismissed the recently concluded Ondo governorship election as fundamentally flawed, describing it as a “poor excuse for democracy.” The group criticised the electoral process, alleging widespread vote buying, partiality by security agencies, and a general lack of adherence to democratic principles.

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared the winner of Saturday’s Ondo governorship election in the state by the Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Olayemi Akinwunmi, at the State Collation Centre at the Akure office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday.

READ MORE: INEC declares APC’s Aiyedatiwa winner of Ondo governorship election

However, speaking on behalf of the CUPP, Comrade Mark Adebayo said, “The widespread vote buying, especially by the major political parties, and the allegation of bias demonstrated by the security agencies who are supposed to curb such a menace was an eyesore.

“It is evident that the All Progressives Congress at both the national and subnationals has performed woefully on all indices of development and are not likely to win any fairly contested  election.

“In our view, the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conceptualized a dangerous agenda of state capture via a tendency towards turning Nigeria into a one-party state prior to the 2027 general elections. Therefore, the Party has set in motion the machinery to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.

READ MORE: Ondo 2024 Election: Heavy militarization, massive vote-buying mars poll’s credibility

“It is clear to all Nigerians that the APC is the Party that has elevated poverty, hunger and economic collapse into active state policy which has destroyed many businesses and crippled the capacity of Nigerians to live a good life. Insecurity has never been as bad as it now obtains nationwide, inflation is at all-time high of 34.7% and still rising, youth unemployment and the phenomenon of out-of-school children has attained epidemic proportions under a government that has proven not only grossly incompetent but also egregiously wicked and unconcerned about the plights of regular Nigerians and swims in the slimy ocean of corruption and criminal extravagance, just to mention a few of its horrible records.

“Under these circumstances, a party like the APC cannot win a free and fair election. But here we are, as it was done in Edo state, so it was orchestrated in Ondo State to force a fait accompli on the people by state force.

“This is not democracy, but a deliberate policy of state capture by antidemocratic forces who are determined to undermine and ultimately destroy our democracy as they did in the first and second Republics.

“As opposition, we remain vigilant and determined to ensure that we do not allow antidemocratic forces bring down our country by scuttling our democratic development as a sovereign nation. All hands shall be on deck to rescue Nigeria and Nigerians from the shackles of oppression, repression and the corrosive influence of obnoxious politicking.”