The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has called on President Bola Tinubu to prevent what he described as attempts by “desperate and rejected politicians” to disrupt or hijack collation centres in the state, as collation of results from Saturday’s governorship election got underway.
Adeleke made the call in a post on social media on Saturday, urging the President to issue a clear warning to the heads of the security agencies deployed to the state.
“It is imperative that you use your good office to issue a clear warning to the heads of security agencies deployed to protect the good people of Osun State and safeguard the integrity of the electoral process,” the governor said.
He continued: “Reports of attempts to hijack or disrupt collation centres by desperate and rejected politicians across the state are deeply concerning and unacceptable, particularly given the large number of security personnel deployed to ensure a peaceful and credible election.”
The governor appealed to the President to restate the assurance given before the poll that votes in the state would count.
“I therefore implore you to reiterate the commitment made to the people of Osun State that their votes will count and that the outcome of this election will reflect their genuine choice,” he said.
He urged the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other agencies to adhere to the President’s directive, and called for the necessary support to be given to the Independent National Electoral Commission to conclude the process and deliver a credible and transparent outcome.
“The people of Osun State have spoken with one voice, and their voices must be heard. Their votes must be protected, and their mandate must be respected,” he added.
Partial returns aggregated from verified INEC Form EC8A sheets put the incumbent ahead. The figures below are provisional and do not represent a declared result.
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
Polling Units
Accord (leading)
Ademola Adeleke
261,234
53.7%
1,932 of 3,763
APC
Bola Oyebamiji
208,352
42.8%
1,940 of 3,763
ADC
Salaam Najeem Folasayo
9,408
1.9%
1,639 of 3,763
AA
Olanrewaju Farinloye
2,353
0.5%
741 of 3,763
ADP
Adeagbo Yemisi
1,406
0.3%
885 of 3,763
APGA
—
1,350
0.3%
538 of 3,763
ZLP
Abdulsalam Olamide
1,059
0.2%
696 of 3,763
AAC
Esan Olajide
763
0.2%
573 of 3,763
YPP
—
237
0%
218 of 3,763
APM
—
101
0%
94 of 3,763
APP
—
57
0%
54 of 3,763
BP
—
49
0%
46 of 3,763
PRP
—
46
0%
38 of 3,763
NNPP
Adeyera Oluwabusola Adesola
46
0%
44 of 3,763
Total valid votes
486,461
Leading By Local Government
Eighteen of the state’s 30 local government areas were reporting at the time of compilation.
LGA
Accord
APC
ADC
Leading
Ayedaade
12,977
11,739
266
Accord
Ayedire
7,493
6,596
93
Accord
Boripe
9,811
15,693
309
APC
Ede North
25,585
7,371
206
Accord
Ede South
20,248
4,737
299
Accord
Egbedore
13,042
7,674
260
Accord
Ejigbo
11,727
10,265
3,248
Accord
Ife Central
18,982
14,267
688
Accord
Ife East
23,980
16,475
828
Accord
Ife North
12,017
7,995
285
Accord
Ifedayo
7,235
6,630
112
Accord
Ila
14,518
11,818
201
Accord
Ilesa West
14,079
10,966
584
Accord
Irepodun
12,577
12,991
199
APC
Irewole
7,958
20,718
198
APC
Odo-Otin
14,834
12,383
318
Accord
Ola-Oluwa
6,184
6,274
125
APC
Osogbo
27,987
23,760
1,189
Accord
The margin at this stage is about 52,882 votes, or roughly 11 percentage points, with a little over half the polling units reported. That is a substantial lead but not a decisive one on these numbers alone, because twelve local government areas have yet to report and the constitutional requirement for a governorship election is not merely a plurality a winner must also secure at least one-quarter of the votes cast in at least two-thirds of the local government areas, which in a 30-LGA state means 20.
The pattern within the returns is the more instructive part. The incumbent’s largest margins come from Ede North and Ede South, where he carries better than three to one and four to one respectively, and from Osogbo and the Ife cluster. The APC’s clearest advantage is in Irewole, where it leads by more than two to one, and it holds narrow leads in Irepodun and Ola-Oluwa, the latter by 90 votes. Boripe is its strongest showing after Irewole. Where the remaining twelve areas sit on that map will determine whether the current margin holds or narrows.
The governor’s appeal is directed at the stage of the process where Nigerian elections are most often unmade. Voting has closed; what remains is arithmetic performed at ward, local government and state collation centres, and it is at those points that results are altered, delayed or disputed. His decision to address the President rather than the Commission or the police directly is a political choice, and it invokes the assurance conveyed on the President’s behalf at Thursday’s rally that adequate security was in place and nobody would be molested.
Two cautions belong on any figures published tonight. First, these are aggregated returns from Form EC8A sheets, not an INEC declaration; only the Returning Officer’s declaration at the state collation centre is authoritative. Second, the polling-unit counts differ slightly between parties in the table 1,932 for Accord against 1,940 for the APC which reflects units where a party recorded no votes rather than any discrepancy in collation.
Editorial notes: Label the table clearly as provisional and unofficial, with a timestamp, and update or replace it the moment INEC declares. Do not describe any candidate as having won until the Returning Officer declares. Four parties in the table have no candidate name attached APGA, YPP, APM, APP, BP and PRP — so fill those from INEC’s published list of candidates before publishing. The governor’s claim of attempts to hijack collation centres is an allegation and should be attributed to him; seek responses from INEC, the police and the APC campaign, and check whether any specific centre has been reported.
The post “Stop Desperate Politicians From Hijacking Osun Collation Centres” — Adeleke Appeals To Tinubu As He Leads Partial Results With 53.7% appeared first on TheNigeriaLawyer.