Adeleke gets CRPP’s support
BY TAIWO FAROTIMI
The Osun State chapter of the Conference of Registered Political Parties,CRPP has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to correct what it described as the obvious mistake of declaring the September 22 gubernatorial election in Osun state inconclusive.
The organization has therefore called on INEC immediately announce Senator Ademola Adeleke as the duly elected governor of Osun state. It said that “It is not too late for INEC to do the needful by correcting this glaring anomaly. If we, as a people, are desirous of building democracy and make it safe in this clime, we should be mindful of the fact that members of the international community were on ground to observe last Saturday’s election.”
In a statement released Tuesday and signed by the chairman of CRRP, Adekunle Rufai Omo Aje, the organization frowned at the misuse of the discretionary power of the Returning Officer by declaring the election inconclusive.
For the CRPP, the action of INEC amounted to “a travesty of justice and a rape of our electoral process where the bar is lowered when some favoured individuals are concerned and raised when others are affected. We strongly believe that what is sauce for the goose , should also be sauce for the gander”.
It argued that the decision of INEC was in clear violation of Section 69 of the Electoral Act 2010 [2015 as amended], Sections 133, 134, and 179 [2] which are unambiguous as per the conditions that must be met by a candidate in an election to be declared winner.
The body noted that the quest by Nigerians to make the country safe for democracy will be truncated if double standards and subversion of the will of the electorates and the laws of the country is promoted by those in political authority.
The Electoral Commission has fixed Thursday for the rerun election in seven polling units across four council areas in the state. It said that the margin of 353 votes that gave Adeleke lead over Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress, APC was less that the number of outstanding votes of those who could not participate in the exercise on Saturday September 22, 2018. The number is 3,498.
