APC won Offa rerun, says PDP candidate. A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) councillorship candidate in last Saturday’s rerun in Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State, Afolabi Jimoh, has confessed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate won in his ward. Jimoh was declared the winner by the State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC). The APC has urged President Goodluck Jonathan; the Inspector- General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Abubakar and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, to prevail on KWSIEC to release the authentic result of the rerun. Jimoh, who contested the Shawo Southwest Offa seat, said KWSIEC was in error to have declared him the winner. The young politician said though he remained a loyal member of the PDP, but being a Muslim and a faithful Offa indigene, he would not claim the victory he did not win. He said: “I remain the authentic candidate of the PDP for Shawo Southwest Ward. I make bold to say that in all the eight polling units in my ward, the PDP lost that day. “As a son of this great town, I believe that in all that we do, we should know that we are going to account for them. I’m this wise. I am not going to be a part to getting what is not mine from anybody. “In all the eight polling units in my ward (Shawo Southwest) the PDP lost, while the APC won convincingly in all the polling units in the rerun on August 31, 2013. I know well that the town stands for equity and justice. I know that we shall give account of all our actions on this earth one day. “On that day, there will be no influence from anybody: be it an Oba, a governor, a leader, an elder, a father or mother. You will be left alone with your deeds. In this wise, I have resolved not be a partaker of getting what is not mine from anybody: in Offa, Kwara State and Nigeria. As a native of this town, I don’t wish my town a bad thing. If something like this continues to happen and we decide to cover it up for one reason or the other, if not now, in the future we will account for everything. “It is very good for us to call a spade a spade anywhere we see it. By doing this, you are helping yourself and others. In the interest of peace and justice in Offa and Kwara State, KWSIEC should release the authentic results of last Saturday’s local government poll in Offa. “The people of Offa have said that they don’t want the PDP. It is clear that Offa people want the APC. The election is a test for both the APC and the PDP. It was a test for the PDP people to correct the wrongs they have been doing, which made the people to hate them. For the APC that won, it should check itself and examine what it has been doing that makes it acceptable in Offa.” Jimoh’s confession gives the lie to the election results the KWSIEC announced on the state radio. The commission has been accused of declaring the PDP, which won only one of the 12 wards in the local government, as the winner of the poll. The APC chairmanship candidate, Saheed Popoola, yesterday said the announcement of the PDP candidate as the winner was laughable, unjust and dangerous to democracy. Addressing reporters in Offa, Popoola urged well- meaning Nigerians, including President Jonathan, the IGP and Prof Jega to prevail on KWSIEC to upturn its injustice. He said the authentic results, which were obtained from the collation centres, be declared in the interest of peace, justice and progress. Popoola said: “The people of Offa Local Government, last Saturday, unequivocally decided that I, Saheed Popoola of the APC, is their choice. This choice must be respected, and we stand before God and man to declare that we stand by this choice. “We are going to do everything possible within the ambit of the law to retrieve this mandate and exercise it to the benefit of the people of Offa. We shall not rest or tire until the people’s choice is sworn in.” Popoola said the party had petitioned Radio Kwara for breaking the National Broadcasting Corporation’s (NBC’s) code. Join Newsinnigeria
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 19:52:08 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015