OSUN 2018: OGUNBIYI SUPPORTERS PROTEST OVER ALLEGED RIGGED PDP PRIMARY
Scores of delegates, supporters and protesters carrying placards with various inscriptions in support of Peoples Democratic Party’s governorship aspirant, in Osun State, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi, on Monday staged a protest against the alleged manipulation of the Saturday primary of the party in favour of Senator Ademola Adeleke, claiming that their candidate Ogunbiyi, was the winner of the election, but that the result was manipulated to favour Adeleke by the Governor Seriake Dickson-led Electoral Panel.
The angry supporters said the party might suffer a huge loss at the election if nothing was done to address the alleged electoral fraud.
Some of the delegates of the aggrieved aspirant and other party members said the opposition party would make the election easy for the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, if Adeleke was presented as the PDP candidate.
This, they argued, was because “Adeleke is not the most popular among the aspirants.”
One of the delegates that voted at the election, Mr Funso Babarinde, who addressed journalists, said “Some of the purported invalid votes are not invalid. Most of them are Akin Ogunbiyi’s votes. We are calling on the leadership of our party at the national level to look into the complaint and review. I am one of the delegates and we know ourselves, the result announced by Governor Seriake Dickson-led electoral panel that conducted the primary is not a true reflection of the wish of the delegates.
“There was manipulation in accreditation, the sorting was manipulated and the manipulation in the counting was obvious. We want the PDP national leadership to offer a recount of all the ballots and address the issues raised otherwise, the party may continue to remain an opposition party.”
Ogunbiyi, the runner-up in the Osun State Peoples Democratic Party governorship primary, has petitioned the national leadership of the party, claiming that he won the contest.
He, therefore, asked that he should be declared the candidate of the party in the September 22, 2018 governorship election.
In his several grounds of appeal, Ogunbiyi faulted the process that was said to have produced the winner of the primary election, Senator Ademola Adeleke, who was said to have scored a total of 1,569 votes, as against his (Ogunbiyi’s) 1,562.
Ogunbiyi was at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja on Monday with some of the aspirants like Senator Akinlabi Olasunkanmi.
The aspirants insisted that the primary was manipulated in favour of Adeleke
In his petition addressed to the Chairman, Governorship Electoral Appeal Panel of the PDP, who is also the National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, Ogunbiyi said that 42 voided votes and 128 unaccounted votes belonged to him, adding that the total votes he actually garnered were 1,732.
As a result of this, he said he was the winner of the election.
“I, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi, having polled the highest number of votes in the primary election of 21st July 2018, be declared the validly nominated/ elected PDP governorship candidate for the forthcoming September 22, 2018 gubernatorial election for Osun state,” he stated in the petition.
Ogunbiyi also questioned Adeleke’s eligibility to contest the primary, insisting that a document allegedly submitted by the lawmaker as evidence of his educational qualification up to school certificate level did not meet the basic qualification stipulated by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act.
He said, “I wish to submit that Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke is not eligible to contest as a governorship candidate of the PDP having failed to meet the requirements as stipulated by Section 117 (D) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
PUNCH NEWS