By Latiifah Amusan
In a dramatic turn of events, both Dino Melaye and Muritala Ajaka, the candidates of the PDP and SDP, have rejected the victory of APC’s Usman Ododo in the just-concluded Kogi State gubernatorial election.
Allegations of widespread irregularities and manual accreditation cast a shadow over the credibility of the electoral process.
Melaye, addressing the media, called for the cancellation of the election, labeling it “shameful and unhealthy,”
“The INEC, as a matter of urgency, must cancel the election. In many areas where I won, my agents were told there were no available result sheets to enter the result and we have evidence to back up these claims,” he said.
“As I speak to you, it is shameful that this is what our democracy has descended to. INEC has manifested ever than before, that it cannot be trusted, it is biased, it is compromised and it cannot be a neutral umpire.”
Ajaka also challenged INEC to address the “dubious and compromised” circumstances.
The statement issued by his media aide, Faruk Adejoh-Audu, reads,
“Against all logic, laws, and decency, the Independent National Electoral Commission is hurriedly progressing with the announcement of the results of an election it has hitherto and voluntarily declared as dubious and compromised in Kogi State.
“The INEC has suddenly turned ostrich to pretend that the malpractices it uncovered can just be ignored and nobody, not even the victims of the electoral heist, is entitled to protest.
“In this regard, we are calling on INEC to immediately cease announcing the results forthwith until it has canceled these areas that its criminal staff members colluded to rig the votes in favor of one candidate as exposed by I-rev.”
