The governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Ladi Adebutu has rejected the overall results of the 2023 governorship election in the state and called for the cancellation of the results.
Abiodun was declared the winner after winning 12 Local government areas, while Adebutu won in eight local government areas.
Adebutu, who is Abiodun’s main challenger said the results in 54 Polling Units that spread across Remo North, Shagamu, Ifo Local Governments Areas of the state were cancelled by INEC during the election. He described it as “disenfranchizing of electorate” in his own strongholds.
The former federal lawmaker, who spoke through Mr Oyejide Sunkanmi, the State Agent of the PDP called on the Commission to investigate the cancellations and directs a rerun in the affected areas.
Adebutu premised the call for a re-run on the electoral Act section 24 subsection 3 which provides that “a rerun should be ordered where violence hindered the electorate, electoral officials and materials from being freely deployed for the purpose of election”.
According to him, if the total number of cancelled votes is far higher than the margin of lead or winning between the winner and the first runner up, a rerun becomes advisable in the affected places.
Responding, the INEC’s R.O. for Ogun State governorship poll, Adebowale said he had examined the records of the Returning Officers (ROs) of the affected areas and found the PDP’s complaints at variance with that of the ROs.
Adebowale who was flanked by the state Residence Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC, Niyi Ijalaye therefore declared Abiodun the winner of the election, after the collation of results from all the 20 Local government areas of the state.
In the results announced by INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, the APC candidate, Dapo Abiodun emerged winner of the governorship election, having polled a total of 276,298 votes.
He defeated Adebutu, who scored a total votes of 262,383 out of the entire 645,133 total votes cast.
The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Biyi Otegbeye came a distant third, having polled a total of ADC: 94,754 votes.
