PDP drags INEC to court, says returning officer should be arrested

chika ebuzor

September 24, 2018 9:47 PM

INEC declared the election as inconclusive due to irregularities in some local governments.

PDP chairman, Uche Secondus

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dragged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court for declaring the Osun governorship election as inconclusive.

Senator Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke of the PDP had 254,698 votes while Gboyega Isiaka Oyetola of the APC had 254, 345

According to Tribune, this was revealed to newsmen by the party’s spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan.

PDP described INEC’s verdict as illegal, arguing that the election was lawfully concluded and it was not in the electoral body’s power to make the declaration.

Arrest the returning officer

PDP also called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Osun governorship election returning officer, Prof. Joseph Fuwape.

The party said “INEC, in trying to play the card of the defeated All Progressives Congress (APC), contravened the law by refusing to announce a return, even when the declared results have thrown up a winner.

“Section 69 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) states that inter-alia ‘in an election to the office of the President or governor whether or not contested and in any contested election to any other elective office, the result shall be ascertained by counting the votes cast for each candidate and subject to the provisions of sections 133, 134 and 179 of the constitution, the candidate that receives the highest number of votes shall be declared elected by the appropriate Returning Officer.

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“Concurrently, Section 179 (2), (a) (b) of the constitution directly prescribes that ‘a candidate for an election to the office of Governor of a State shall be deemed to have been duly elected where, there being two or more candidates – (a) he has the highest number of votes cast at the election; and (b) he has not less than one-quarter of all the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the local government areas in the State.

“INEC’s action in declaring a concluded election as inconclusive is, therefore, an annulment, totally duplicitous, constitutionally illegal, ultra-vires and as such null and void.”

PDP also called on the chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to declare its candidate, Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the Osun governorship election.

According to INEC, the re-run is scheduled to hold on Thursday, September 27, 2018.

chika ebuzor