“All Steps Taken By Inec Points To Attempts To Manipulate Election In Favour Of APC” Gov Segun Mimiko Cries Out Hrs To Ondo Guber

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Governor Olusegun Mimikjo of Ondo State Friday raised the alarm over an alleged plan by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to compromise Ondo governorship election in favour of the candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC), Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

This development came as one person was shot dead in Owo, the hometown of Akeredolu on Thursday night by suspected hoodlums while several houses were burnt by supporters of rival political parties in the town.
Mimiko, who addressed a press conference at the International Event Centre, in Akure the state capital, said all the steps taken by the electoral umpire towards the election pointed to attempts to manipulate the election favour of the APC.

One of the steps, he said was the deployment of Prof Kayode Soremefun, the Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Technology, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) as the Returning Officer for the state polls so as to allegedly use the same method for Edo State election in the state.

According to him, the same team of election ad hoc staff, which masterminded the largely controversial Edo election have been sent to the State to deliver a preconceived result for Akeredolu, the APC’s candidate.

A visible enraged Mimiko said “I have to state this here and now, that our people will not accept the method, men and process unleashed on Edo. We reject unequivocally the mission of this team in our State. The Edo team did not only call off collation by 9pm on election day, party agents, monitors and journalists were ordered out of the collation centres allowing for final subversion of the will of the electorates.”

Meanwhile, INEC has given reasons why it reappointed Professor Koyede Soremekun as returning officer for Saturday’s governorship election in Ondo State.

Professor Soremekun, vice chancellor of Federal University Oye, Ekiti State, was returning officer for the September governorship election in Edo State.

The election was won by the All Progressives Congress (APC), amidst rigging allegation by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

But Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, in a telephone interview on Friday, said the fears being expressed were unfounded.

According to him, there was no evidence that the man compromised in his previous assignment.

“If they said the man compromised, why don’t they give us the evidence that he compromised or are they afraid that the man will not compromise?” he asked.

Oyekanmi noted that the politicians who are complaining enjoy second term in office, and said it is not legally wrong to use one person as returning officer for two elections.

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