The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Kogi State, Muritala Ajaka, has raised serious allegations against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding the conduct of the gubernatorial election in the state.
Ajaka, who aims to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), expressed deep disappointment with INEC, claiming that the results had been predetermined even before the election.
During a recent appearance on Channels Television’s “The Verdict” program for off-cycle governorship elections, Ajaka criticized INEC’s handling of the election.
He stated, “INEC disappointed all of us,” and pointed out that INEC had given the impression that the election would run smoothly, but it turned out differently.
Ajaka alleged that INEC officials sent to Kogi State were responsible for compromising the electoral process.
According to him, “Before the commencement of the election, the results sheets were already out everywhere in the whole of Kogi Central.” He mentioned that they have written to INEC and have evidence to support their claims.
The SDP candidate expressed his frustration, saying, “If we had known we were going into a jungle, we would have prepared for a jungle arrangement,” and described it as an “all man to himself” situation.
Ajaka acknowledged the security provided by the Federal Government during the election and commended President Ahmed Bola Tinubu for this.
However, he firmly placed the blame on the INEC officials sent to Kogi State, alleging that they had given the result sheets to Yahaya Bello, the incumbent governor of the state.
While INEC has collated results from 18 of the 21 local government areas, the electoral commission has announced plans for a supplementary election in 59 polling units in the state, scheduled for the coming Saturday.
According to the results announced so far, the SDP candidate is trailing his APC counterpart, Usman Ododo.
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