The Social Democratic Party’s governorship candidate in Ogun State, Anthony Ojeshina, has rejected Saturday’s election results, calling the outcome “a rape of democracy.” Ojeshina, who withdrew his candidacy in favor of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Oladipupo Adebutu a few days before the election, argued that the facts on the ground warranted an inconclusive declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
On Sunday, INEC returning officer Prof. Kayode Adebowale announced that the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Governor Dapo Abiodun, had won the governorship and state assembly elections. Adebowale reported that Abiodun received 276,298 votes, while PDP candidate Ladi Adebutu secured 262,383 votes, and African Democratic Congress candidate Biyi Otegbeye obtained 94,754 votes.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Ojeshina faulted INEC for declaring Abiodun the winner despite violence in parts of the state. He said, “The declaration by INEC is a rape of our democratic process. It is clear to all that the governorship election should have been declared inconclusive based on hard facts on the ground and the 2022 INEC Electoral Act.” Ojeshina added that the SDP and its coalition partners remain committed to ensuring that Ladi Adebutu receives justice and assumes his rightful position as the legitimate governor of Ogun State. He affirmed the SDP’s dedication to creating a model state and its willingness to collaborate with the PDP to achieve this goal, concluding, “We are counting on the judiciary, the peoples’ last arbiter, to salvage this travesty of justice.”
Comments are closed for this story.