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The Peoples Democratic Party, the main opposition party in Kwara State, and the ruling All Progressives Congress have expressed differing views on the results of Saturday’s local government elections in the state.
The Chairman of the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission, Alhaji Mohammed Baba-Okanla, in a statement released to the press on Sunday morning, announced that the APC won the chairmanship and councillorship elections across the 16 local government councils and 193 wards of the state.
While PDP members staged a protest at the KWASIEC office in the Fate area of Ilorin on Sunday, the APC commended the people of the state for their support during the local government elections.
PDP members, carrying placards with various inscriptions, condemned KWASIEC for being partial in the election.
Some of the placards read: “Kwara people say no to continuation of bad governance led by APC,” “LG election results declared by KWASIEC are fake,” “Govt, KWASIEC changed the results of the election in favor of APC,” and “KWASIEC robbed PDP in Kwara LG elections,” among others.
Speaking with newsmen, a former commissioner, Hajia Saratu Adebayo, who led the PDP protest, accused KWASIEC of falsifying the results of Saturday’s LG polls.
Adebayo said, “The PDP won the chairmanship election in the 16 local government areas of the state, but the seats were falsely awarded to APC by KWASIEC.
“KWASIEC, in collaboration with the state government and the APC, changed and stole the votes of the people of Kwara State.
“The PDP is not happy with the election process, but we are peace-loving people. KWASIEC should do the needful.”
However, the APC praised the people of the state for their peaceful conduct during the election and for backing the party. In a statement signed by its chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, the APC thanked the people for the large turnout reported in the Saturday local government election and expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support for all of the party’s candidates.
In a statement released Saturday evening, the APC said, “Official results from polling units across the 16 local government areas show an impressive performance by the party in the chairmanship and councillorship elections.
“We thank the people of Kwara State for their show of support and the confidence reposed in our party. We commend them for coming out to vote for APC despite the intimidation by opposition elements.
“We commend the electoral body, KWASIEC, for its good performance, the impartiality of its officials, and its prompt and professional responses to the late arrival of materials and procedural hitches in a few areas. Additionally, we commend the people of Kwara State for their peaceful conduct throughout.
“We condemn the futile attempts by the opposition PDP to disrupt elections in some areas, especially in Offa, where miscreants made unsuccessful efforts to undermine the process. A popular party has no reason to disrupt the election process, but that was what the PDP tried to do after its initial plan to stop the election through the courts failed miserably. We thank the electorate for resisting their antics and voting for our party.”
