The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) declaration of Ademola Adeleke as winner of the Osun State governorship election, saying it believes the governor did not secure the highest number of valid votes.
The party’s Director-General of the Osun State Governorship Campaign, Oluwole Oke, disclosed this while speaking on Arise News, saying the APC had commenced an audit of the election process before reaching a final position.
“We do not agree with the declaration of INEC. That’s our position for now. We believe he did not score the highest valid votes,” Oke said.
He said the party had directed its agents to submit copies of Forms EC8A, EC8B and EC8C to its secretariat for inspection and review.
“When you have a project of this nature with the outcome announced by INEC, we will not be in a haste, nor shall we be under pressure without doing the needful. The needful that we need to do is to evaluate the process, get all the records, review the process, and then form an opinion,” he said.
Oke said the APC would also examine issues arising before and during the election against the Electoral Act and other relevant laws before announcing its position.
“There are a lot of issues before us. There are a lot of issues for determination, even on a pre-election basis,” he said.
He added: “Until we do that and form our opinion, we won’t be able to go further to say anything on this.”
On claims of internal divisions within the APC, Oke said disagreements were not peculiar to the party, pointing to similar disputes within the Accord Party.
“If you are talking about internal divisions, even the Accord Party itself is divided. The chairman of the Accord Party endorsed our candidate openly in public. Within a political party, disputes and misunderstandings are bound, but the fact remains that the party comes together at the polls to ensure victory,” he said.
Oke also defended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) freezing of Osun government accounts shortly before the election, saying the agency was performing its lawful duty. He, however, commended President Bola Tinubu for directing that the accounts be unfrozen.
“When you have a constitutional body, a lawful agency of government like the EFCC performing their lawful duty, I don’t see anything wrong in that. I’m not the EFCC. The EFCC must have their reasons for freezing the accounts of the Osun State government,” Oke said.
He maintained that the issue was separate from the APC’s position on the election and declined to comment further, saying he did not have the facts of the matter.
On allegations of “federal might”, Oke dismissed the suggestion that the APC’s control of the Federal Government gave it an advantage in the election, insisting that “politics is local”.
“When people allure to the fact that our party is the ruling party and talk about federal might, it doesn’t work like that. Politics is local,” he said.
Oke said the presence of APC governors and other party leaders in Osun was simply an expression of solidarity with the party’s candidate.
Reflecting on the election, he said voter turnout showed increasing awareness among Nigerians about their civic responsibilities and the government’s obligations to citizens.
“The takeaway from this exercise is the level of turnout. This election shows that Nigerian voters are more aware and conscious of their civic duty that they need to perform,” he said.
Oke also questioned the Adeleke administration’s record in education, healthcare and support for farmers, saying the APC’s review would examine the issues surrounding the election before making its findings public.
“When you look at this in totality, you can see the failures of government glaring in the citizens’ faces,” he said.
He urged the public to allow the APC time to complete its review, promising that the party would return with its findings after examining the electoral records and processes.
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