How APC Snatched Victory from the Jaws of Defeat in Osun

Segun Atanda/

By now, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the September 22 gubernatorial election in Osun State would have put on his dancing shoes to celebrate victory at the polls.

But the Forces working against the victory dance of Senator Ademola Adeleke, who is known as the Dancing Senator, are many and they appear to be very powerful.

Among them are 14 governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and other party stalwarts who were on the ground, working behind the scene in the state.

Early results announced by INEC on Sunday had put Adeleke in the lead.

And, If everything had gone without last-minute surprises, INEC would have declared PDP’s Adeleke as the winner with 256, 219 votes against APC’s 255, 309 votes. The difference was 910 votes, instead of the eventual margin of 353, and some insider claims of PDP leading with 80,000 votes.

But the exercise entered into a session of melodrama as INEC, citing some irregularities, revisited and deducted 1000 votes from PDP’s score about four hours after announcing that the race was head to head at Ayedaade LGA, where APC scored 10,861 against PDP’s 10,836, a vote difference of 25.

It was a move that would have made the APC snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, as it put the party ahead of PDP with almost 100 votes.

The move was, however, vehemently contested by PDP leaders, who quickly sent out a statement disclosing that 1000 votes were deducted from the party’s result in the area earlier during collation of result at the INEC office in Osogbo.

The PDP had raised the alarm about impending manipulations after a man who claimed to be an INEC agent was arrested at Ayedaade for allegedly tearing INEC results sheet that was in contention.

The agent who identified himself, with INEC ID Card, as Salawu Mutiu Kolawole said that a superior officer, named as Mrs Aderinoye, called on the phone and directed him to proceed to St Peter’s in Ayedaade to tear the result sheets.

Kolawole said, “An Electoral Officer, Mrs Aderinoye, in Ayedaade council, called me and asked me to go to the council and tear the result sheet.

“Before I could ask her why I had to go and do it, she hung up. I approached another EO, Mr Oladunjoye and told him what my boss said. I went there to tear it but while doing it, two party agents met me there and arrested me.

“They brought me to INEC office after arresting me. I am not a party agent but a staff of INEC. My phone was taken from me by policemen at the gate who ushered me into the premises.”

As the drama was going on, the INEC Official handling the collation in public view received a call, and there was a meltdown. All television stations stopped their live broadcasts and it would take several hours before transmission returned.

During the interlude, NewsmakersNG learnt that the election was going to be declared inconclusive.

So much was going on behind the scene.

The APC army in Osun would not accept defeat. They were led by the party’s national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

In the brigade are the party’s Deputy Chairman, Abdulazeez Abubakar Yari, the Deputy National Chairman, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos, Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Arakunrin Olwarotimi Akeredolu SAN (Ondo), Owelle Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Simon Bako Lalong (Plateau), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Mohammed Umar Jibrilla (Adamawa), Mohammed Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa), Emma Ibediro, APC National Organizing Secretary; Bankole Oluwajana, the National Vice Chairman (S/W); Tajudeen Bello, the National Financial Secretary, and Babatunde Ogala, the National Legal Adviser.

According to earlier live announcements by INEC, Adeleke polled 16, 693 votes in Ede South, while in Ede North, he got 18, 745 votes. His All Progressives Congress rival, Gboyega Oyetola got 4512 and 7025 in the two councils respectively.

Adeleke also defeated the incumbent governor, Ogbeni Aregbesola, in Ilesha West, one of the Local Government Areas in his hometown, where PDP scored 8,286 against APC’s 7, 251.

The wide gap Adeleke created among the field of 48 governorship candidates gave him the initial jump, making the others to catch up.

After results were announced in 18 local governments, he had 165,596 votes, while the APC candidate got 146, 923 votes, a difference of 18,673 votes.

Senator Iyiola Omisore who cleared Ife Central with a historic vote of 20,494, was in the third position with 71,028 votes.

Results were later declared in the remaining 12 local councils with that of Osogbo coming last, after which INEC declared the election as inconclusive.

According to INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof Joseph Adeola Fuwape, the differences between the two leading parties is just 353.

Fuwape, the Vice Chancellor at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), said in a broadcast today: “…According to election guideline, where the margin of win between two leading candidates is not in excess of the total number of registered voters of the polling units where elections were cancelled, a candidate or a party may not be returned.

“From the analysis of results that we have, the difference between the two leading parties is just 353; and the number of voters in units where elections were cancelled is 3498.

“With that difference, unfortunately as the Returning Officer, it’s not possible to declare any party as the clear winner of this election on the first ballot.”

Going by the results from the 30 Local Government Areas announced by INEC today, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with 353 votes.

According to Fuwape, the ruling APC polled 254,345 votes while PDP scored 254,698 votes.

NewsmakersNG, however, learnt that lawyers may see INEC’s action as different strokes for different folks because the same rule was not applied in last month’s Lokoja/Kogi Federal Constituency by-election in Kogi State. In the August by-election, the 19, 960 votes voided was more than the 12, 015 margin recorded by the winner, Mr Haruna Isah of APC who scored 26, 860 votes against PDP’s Engr Bashir Abubakar who had 14, 845 votes. INEC announced the APC candidate as the winner without declaring the election inconclusive.

The election was monitored by not less than 50 International observers, 40, 000 policemen, 14 APC state governors, eight ministers, many senators, party stalwarts and APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu among others.

There were reports of ballot box snatches that led to the cancellation of results in some areas.

Thursday, September 27, is the new date fixed by INEC for the gladiators.

According to INEC, rerun elections would hold in two units of Orolu LGA, a unit of Ife South LGA, one unit of Ife North LGA, and a unit at Osogbo LGA where there were complaints of irregularities.

Ede South LGA:

PDP : 16,693

APC:  4,512

ADP: 357

SDP: 855

Total Valid Votes: 23,136
Total Rejected Votes: 1,605
Total Votes Cast: 24,741

Number Of Registered Voters: 46,887

Number of Accredited Voters: 24,888

Ede North LGA:

ADC: 89
ADP: 758

APC: 7025

PDP: 18745

SDP: 1380

Boripe LGA

In the result announced by the returning officer, Professor Afolabi Atanda, APC Candidate, Gboyega Oyetola won the council.

APC :  11, 655

PDP:  6, 892

ADC: 137

ADP: 1137

SDP – 2730

Total Registered Voters – 57, 397

Accredited: 25, 045

Orolu LGA:

ADC: 79
ADP: 388
APC: 5442
PDP: 7776
SDP:2043

Total Number of Registered Voters: 31,904
Total Number of Accredited Voters: 17,485

TOTAL VALID VOTES:16,157
TOTAL REJECTED VOTES: 1,260
TOTAL VOTES CAST: 17,417

Ilesha West LGA:

PDP: 8286
APC: 7251
SDP: 2408
ADP: 2363
ADC: 127

TOTAL VALID VOTES: 21,220
TOTAL REJECTED VOTES: 1,861

TOTAL VOTES CAST: 23,081
TOTAL REGISTERED VOTERS: 60,600
TOTAL ACCREDITED VOTERS: 32,569

Atakumosa East LGA

ADC:60
ADP:629
APC:7,073
PDP:5218
SDP:2140

Total number of registered voters: 35,657
Total number of accredited voters:17,086
Total valid votes:15,721
Total rejected votes:1,008
Total vote cast:16,729

Ife South LGA:

APC:7223
PDP:4872
SDP:6151
ADP:561
ADC:136

Total valid votes = 19,998
Rejected votes=1,399
Total votes cast = 21,397

Ife Central LGA
DC – 194
ADP -1,053
APC – 6,957
PDP – 3,200
SDP – 20,494

* Registered Voters – 106,309
* Accredited Voters – 35,588
* Total valid votes – 33,304
* Rejected votes – 2,144
* Total votes cast – 35,448

Ila LGA

APC: 8403
ADC: 96
ADP: 183
PDP: 8241
SDP: 3134

Total Registered Voters: 39,188
Total Accredited Voters; 21,124
TOTAL VALID VOTES- 20,531
TOTAL REJECTED VOTES – 847
TOTAL VOTES CAST- 21,378

Irepodun LGA

ADC: 158
ADP: 2,564
APC: 6,517
PDP: 8058
SDP: 4856

TOTAL VALID VOTES 22,859
TOTAL REJECTED VOTES: 1,410
TOTAL VOTES CAST: 24,269

TOTAL NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS: 46,558
TOTAL NUMBER OF ACCREDITED VOTERS: 24,307

Ifelodun LGA

ADC 236
ADP 2834
APC: 9882
PDP: 12269
SDP: 1970

Isokan LGA:

ADC: 56,
ADP: 682
APC: 7297
PDP: 9048
SDP: 3460

Number of Registered Voters: 45,903
Number of Accredited Voters: 23,314

Total Valid Votes: 21,723
Total Rejected Votes: 1519
TOTAL NUMBERS OF VOTE CAST: 23,242

Odo Otin LGA:

ADC – 1034
ADP – 1112
APC – 9996
PDP – 9879
SDP – 2941

TOTAL REGISTERED VOTERS: 57,663
TOTAL ACCREDITED VOTERS: 27,051
TOTAL VALID VOTES: 25,654
TOTAL VOTE CAST: 27,023
REJECTED VOTES: 1,369

Ayedire LGA

ADC: 144

ADP: 166

APC: 5474

PDP: 5133
SDP: 2396

TOTAL VOTES CAST:15240
REJECTED VOTES: 1024
TOTAL ACCREDITED VOTERS: 16264

AYEDAADE LGA

ADC: 145
ADP: 1654
APC: 10,861
PDP: 10,836
SDP: 2967

Ejigbo LGA

ADC: 258
ADP: 592
APC: 14,779
PDP: 11,116
SDP: 4,803

Total Valid Votes: 32,787
Rejected Votes: 2,109
Total Votes Cast: 34,896

Registered Voters: 63,652
Accredited Voters: 35,061

Irewole LGA;

ADC: 249
ADP: 1915
APC: 10049

PDP: 13848
SDP: 1142

TOTAL VALID VOTES: 28267
REJECTED VOTES: 2502
TOTAL VOTES CAST: 30769
No of registered voters: 61977
No of accredited voters: 30898

Ife North LGA

ADC -94
ADP -745
APC:6527
PDP:5486
SDP: 5158

Total number of registered voters – 52684
No of Accredited voters- 20549

Total Valid Votes: 18846
Rejected Votes: 1,674
Total Votes Cast: 20,520