The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State has rejected the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) report, which claimed that the party’s primary on April 20 was plagued by irregularities.
The APC voiced surprise at the report and described the electoral body’s conclusion as “shocking.”
Despite the discovery of anomalies in the report, the party advised its members in the state to stay undaunted, telling them to focus on the November 16 gubernatorial election.
In a report prepared by INEC personnel who watched the shadow election across the state’s 203 electoral wards, various instances of anomalies were identified.
Officials have observed anomalies such as the non-arrival of electoral materials in some places and the erroneous collation of election results.
Meanwhile, the party’s Publicity Secretary in the state, Alex Kalejaye, accused some members of the party of scheming to undermine the process.
He said:
“For the record, elections took place in all 18 local government areas in the state. There were agitations in Ifedore and Ilaje local government areas.
“While the results for the entire Ifedore local government were cancelled, those for Ilaje affected about four wards, which were also cancelled.
“The essence of such cancellations was to emphasize the validity of the entire process and lend credence to fairness.
“The voting strength of our members in the affected areas was not substantial enough to dent the credibility of the process or affect the margin with which the candidate emerged.
“The party therefore doubts the authenticity of the report, credited to an agent of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
“The party urges its teeming supporters to discountenance the spurious report and focus on the bigger task ahead: to win the governorship election and retain the Sunshine State for APC.”
cc: Daily Post Ng
