The Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday rejected the result of the rerun governorship election in Osun State, describing the Thursday election as one of the worst days in the history of Nigeria.
It described the election as a black day for the nation.
The National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, spoke at an emergency meeting after the meeting of members of the PDP National Working Committee.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gboyega Oyetola, the winner of the Osun governorship election.
INEC declared Oyetola the winner of the poll after the supplementary election held in seven polling units on Thursday.
Oyetola had trailed the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Ademola Adeleke, by 353 votes going into the supplementary election.
His votes from Thursday were however enough to help him overturn the deficit and be returned as winner of the keenly contested governorship election.
The final votes announced by the electoral body shows that Oyetola got 255,505 votes, while Adeleke secured 255,023 votes.
Consequently, the Returning Officer, Professor Joseph Fuwape, declared Oyetola the winner of the election.
But Secondus said that Osun State was put under siege and the citizens’ right trampled upon by security agents, whom he said were backed by both the All Progressives Congress and INEC officials.
According to him, if what took place in Osun State was what would take place in 2019, then the future of Nigeria’s democracy “is bleak and the nation sliding into crisis.”
He said, “What we have witnessed in Osun shows clearly that the All Progressives Congress is not ready for an election and we are afraid that President Muhammadu Buhari will not hand over if he loses the election next year.
“Today, we are all aware of the rerun election in Osun State as we address the press conference. We, the members of the National Working Committee, have reviewed what has happened from the distribution of materials to the actual voting in some of the units and wards.
“We found that Osun is under siege. Therefore, today is a black day for Nigeria.
“We would think that it is a state or some units, but if you look at what has transpired so far from Ekiti to Osun State, Nigerians are groaning in pains especially the Osun people.
“The right of the citizens to be able to come out and vote had been trampled upon and the entire state and the wards and units have been seized by the security agencies who were acting on behalf of the APC to make sure the election is rigged by all means.
“We are sad that if this is what is going to take place in 2019, then the future of Nigeria’s democracy is bleak and we are sliding into crisis.”
Secondus challenged INEC to rise above what happened in Osun and declare the PDP candidate as the winner of the election.
He also called on the commission to immediately cancel the elections in all the units where security agencies seized the Permanent Voter Cards of PDP members and also where their members were prevented from voting.
In his reaction, the Deputy National Chairman (South-West), Dr Eddy Olafeso, noted that security agents colluded with the APC people by allowing those wearing uniform bearing the APC governorship name to vote.
He alleged that in Orolu and Garage Olode and some of the units, the PVCs of PDP members were seized and INEC members of staff were induced with cash, which he said they could not refuse.
Meanwhile, the missions of the United State, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have faulted the supplementary election held in Osun State on Thursday, adding that incidents noted during the process are very are worrisome.
The missions said this in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, on Thursday night.
The missions whose observers were on ground during the supplementary election said, “We witnessed what appeared to be incidents of interference and intimidation of voters and heard reports of harassment of party monitors, journalists and domestic observers.”
Their position was communicated by US Consul-General John Bray, who spoke on behalf of the missions.
“We are very concerned by these reports and we will be checking with stakeholders to determine the facts. We call on all stakeholders to remain calm.”
The supplementary election which held in seven polling units had commenced early with electoral materials and officials arriving early at the units.
Unlike Saturday’s poll which was considered peaceful, there were several arrests, reports of intimidation and manipulation.
Some election observers said they were prevented from moving freely or gaining access to polling units, while the Independent National Electoral Commission also expressed concern about reports it received.
