THE CHARADE OF AN ELECTION OVERSEEN BY INEC
a view by Dr Olu Agunloye
21 November 2024
… INEC Vote Allocation portrays other political parties as unserious and electorates as nonentities
As a section of Ondo State is basking in the euphoria of ‘landslide’, or 18 – zero victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and many people are struggling to outsmart themselves in sending congratulatory messages to the victorious Governor, it is necessary to hear out the not too loud voice of one who is not gladdened by the just concluded election in Ondo State which is no more than a charade presided over by the INEC and watched over by the Inspector General of Police. The is sad, not because Mr. Luck Aiyedatiwa, the Numero Uno of Ondo State, was declared winner but because the election was marred by major irregularities capable of breaking the foundation of democracy in Nigeria and which belie the standards and integrity of people of Ondo State, in particular, and Nigeria, in general.
For us at the Social Democratic Party, the aftermath of the assaults inflicted by INEC on the Social Democratic Party is beyond licking of the wounds. It is a serious food for thought and a back-to-the-drawing-board order. It calls for looking through the possibilities of seeking redress and justice because legitimised buying and selling of votes and declaring fictitious numbers as results of elections pose serious dangers to the future elections and democracy in Nigeria. The entire electioneering processes and the election of 16 November 2024 were a mixed grill of deceits and disappointments, promises made and broken, hopes raised and dashed, votes willing sold and votes willing bought, votes cast and allocated, and apathy and denials. In this write-up, we shall dwell only a few of the aspects.
The Social Democratic Party prepared for the election with a total 48,213 officials comprising 4,489 National and State Exco members across the State, the Governorship Candidate set up Otunba Bamidele Akingboye Campaign Organisation (OBACO) comprising a total of 39,569 members carefully selected including 10 canvassers per unit and the State Chairman and the Director General of OBACO put together a total of 4,155 Party Agents, out of which only 2,825 were registered by INEC. But INEC dashed the hopes of the Party by wrongly declaring only 438 votes for the Party across the entire State, making it look like not even up to 1 % (one percent) of the SDP officials cast their votes for SDP.
The breakdown of the 438 votes recorded and announced by INEC for Social Democratic Party in the three Senatorial Districts comes to (a) 48 votes scored in the Northern District, (b) 355 votes in the Central District and (c) 35 votes in the Southern District. INEC gleefully, and perhaps shamelessly, announced that SDP scored less than 10 votes in 9 out of 18 LGs. INEC also recorded and announced that SDP scored above 100 votes in only two LGs, Ondo West (123) and Akure South (138). INEC again announced that SDP scored only 18 votes in all the 13 Wards of Okitipupa LG where the Governorship Candidate comes from. The Candidate, Otunba Bamidele Akingboye, a member of the royal family, a philanthropist of over two decades, and a deeply rooted “son of the soil”, and his Deputy Director General (South), Hon Oyeniyi Iwakun, son of the famous Baba Iwakun would certainly have had more than 16 votes added to their own two votes in Okitipupa LG.
In truth, these abysmally low votes recorded and announced by INEC for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) are incorrect. They were fictitious allocations made by INEC and not the actual votes cast for SDP. In this report, we will use only three LGs to show that INEC, with its grand national architecture, was only allocating fictitious votes to the political parties using yet to be unveiled criteria and formula. A glimpse into the INEC Can of Worms reveals:
Irele LG: INEC Allocated 1 vote. A scrutiny of the election results captured on Form EC8A from 9 (nine) Polling Units taken randomly over six wards of the 10 Wards of Irele LG shows that the same INEC recorded a total of 97 (ninety-seven) votes for SDP as itemised below:
1. Ojowuro/Luwuro/Jegun Lotin Unit in Irele Ward I, SDP score 6 votes.
2. Idogun Arowa Zion Unit, in Ward 2, SDP scored 9 votes.
3. Olowofoyekun Pry School Unit SDP, Ward 3 scored 30 votes
4. Jomowoye V/11/IV at Oshodi Unit, in the same Ward 3, SDP scored 4 votes.
5. Opetunsi/Luwoye/Akarigbo Unit in Ward 4 shows that SDP scored 10 votes and at
6. Aribo qtrs/Konye Qtrs Unit in Ward 5 shows that SDP scored 15 votes, at
7. Yasere Unit, in Ward 5, SDP scored 5 votes.
8. Lemadoro/Odunwo/Lurowo/Ogeletunbo Unit, in Ward 5, SDP scored 14 votes.
9. Seja/Yasere Omi Unit, in Iyansan/Omi Ward 6, SDP scored 4 votes.
Akoko North East LG: INEC Allocated 3 votes. A scrutiny of the election results captured on Form EC8A from 2 (two) Polling Units taken randomly from only one Ward of the 13 Wards of Akoko North East LG, Ekan Ward, shows that the same INEC recorded a total of 10 (ten) votes for the SDP as itemised below:
1. Ekan Ile 1 & 11/ Salem Pry School Unit, in Ekan Ward, SDP scored 3 votes.
2. Odeke 1 & 2 Leminamu Unit, in Ekan Ward, SDP scored 7 votes.
Akoko South West LG: INEC Allocated 11 votes. A scrutiny of the election results captured on Form EC8A from 5 (five) Polling Units taken randomly from just one Ward of the 15 Wards of Akoko South West LG, Ward 5, shows that the same INEC recorded a total of 37 (thirty-seven) votes for SDP as itemised below:
1. Okaodo I Ologbese Compound Unit, Ward 5, SDP scored 4 votes.
2. Okaodo II Ologun House Unit, Ward 5, SDP scored 6 votes.
3. Okaodo III Akembe Compound Unit, Ward 5, SDP scored 9 votes.
4. Okaodo V Ologbese Compound Unit Ward 5, SDP scored 6 votes.
5. Aletile Compound Unit, in Ward 5, SDP scored 12 votes.
It would appear as if the same method of allocating votes in the Ondo State APC Primaries of April/May 2024 has been adopted by the INEC in the November 16 2024 gubernatorial election in Ondo State. The most noteworthy aspect of the charade presided over by INEC and secured by the Inspector General of Police is NOT that it procured victory for APC, but that it blatantly chose to humiliate, ridicule and hurt the other political parties as INEC proceeded on a path to destroy democracy in Nigeria. The INEC Vote Allocation Agenda portrays that other political parties as unserious and the Nigerian electorates as inconsequential nonentities. Specifically, the INEC 2024 allocations deeply hurt the Social Democratic Party whose members, Party Excos, Coordinators, and Polling Agents are presented as not voting for their own Party, SDP, a situation which can lead to great mistrust and internal instabilities. In general, the actions of INEC against SDP and against democratic processes are contrary to the enabling Act of INEC and the Constitution of the Federal republic.
Dr Olu Agunloye.
21 November 2024
