Peoples Democratic Party and Social Democratic Party governorship candidates in Kogi State, Dino Melaye and Muritala Ajaka, have rejected the victory of their All Progressives Congress counterpart, Usman Ododo.
Ododo was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission with 446,238 votes, while Ajaka and Melaye garnered 259,052 and 46,262 votes, respectively.
Melaye has called for the election’s cancellation, citing unprecedented irregularities across all three senatorial districts and expressing concern over INEC’s failure to address past issues in the democratic process.
He said, “Yesterday (Saturday) in the five local governments of Central Senatorial District in Kogi State, there was no election. Surprisingly, accreditation was done manually, the BVAS was not used, prepared result sheets surfaced even before accreditation and evidence is all over the media.
‘”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
“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, through his media aide, Faruk Adejoh-Audu, has also rejected the election results, stating that they go against electoral laws.
The statement emphasized INEC’s rushed announcement of results for an election previously acknowledged by the commission as dubious and compromised in Kogi State, challenging the logic, laws, and decency associated with the process.
“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 cancelled these areas that its criminal staff members colluded to rig the votes in favour of one candidate as exposed by I-rev.”
