The Director-general of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Governorship Campaign in Osun State, Hon. Busayo Oluwole Oke, has said the party disagrees with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) declaration of Senator Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the Osun State election, insisting that the APC believes he did not secure the highest number of valid votes.
Oluwole Oke said the party had commenced an audit of the election process, directing its agents to submit copies of Forms EC8A, EC8B and EC8C for a thorough review and inspection of the electoral records, after which the party would form its position and make its findings known to the public.
“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.
“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. We have embarked on an audit process. We have asked all our party agents to submit copies of Forms EC8A, B, and C to our secretariat for review. We need to inspect the materials,” he said.
“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. They are now aware that the government owes them a duty of care. This is captured in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that it is the duty of government to look after the citizens, their welfare, and their security,” he said.
He further questioned the performance of the Osun State Government under Senator Ademola Adeleke, particularly in education, healthcare and support for the state’s largely agrarian population.
“When you look at the situation in Osun State, which is one of the reasons we are conducting a thorough review of the records of this election: has the government of Osun State really been taking care of the people in education and healthcare provision? Osun people are largely agricultural farmers; what support has the government given to the farmers? When you look at this in totality, you can see the failures of government glaring in the citizens’ faces.
“So you will be wondering: are these citizens begging to be slaves under the leadership of Ademola Adeleke? The answer is no. I apply that you please give us some time. Let us do what we want to do and what we ought to do, and we will come back to speak to the members of the public,” he said.
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