PDP’s Ajayi rejects Ondo election result, heads to court

Forty-eight hours after Saturday’s governorship in Ondo State, the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Agboola Ajayi, has rejected the result of the poll released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday.

While disclosing that the outcome of the poll will be contested at the election tribunal, Ajayi lamented that before the election, a series of alarms were raised over the party’s lack of faith in the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) to conduct a credible poll.

Ajayi lost the election to Aiyedatiwa after polling 117,845 votes, while the latter secured 366,781 votes to emerge as the winner and as well cleared all the 18 local councils of the state.

According to the opposition candidate in a statement issued by his special adviser on media and publicity, Ayo Fadaka, the ‘debauchery’ that occurred during the election had been unearthed, which he said will form part of the evidence in court.

Ajayi maintained that since the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) came to power in the country, the elections conducted by the INEC have been enmeshed in controversies.

He said, “Since the conclusion of voting on Saturday, 16th November, we have kept mute and put in process an investigation of the contents of criminality prosecuted by both APC and the INEC.

“In view of the foregoing, we have uncovered lots of actions undertaken to compromise the electoral desires of the people and sadly conclude that democracy cannot thrive in an environment where unabated criminality is perpetually perpetrated in the prosecution of an election by the agency (INEC) saddled with the onerous and sacred responsibility to protect our franchise and deliver its mandate at the end of every election.

“November 16th election, like every other election conducted by INEC since APC assumed power in 2015, continues in the tradition of hijacking the process and delivering results that are diametrically in contrast with expressed electoral desires, thus resulting in promoting voters apathy and total disenchantment with the electoral process.

“In summary, we reject the results of the Nov 16th election and will take legal actions to reverse the debauchery. That is the option available to us, and we are hopeful that man and God, who is the ultimate, will give us justice. It is time we begin to eschew criminality from our electoral process.”