Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) has declared candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winners of 57 chairmanship seats in the Saturday’s local government election.
The election was conducted into the 20 local government areas (LGAs) and 37 newly created local council development areas (LCDAs).
OGSIEC declared APC candidates as winners of 346 of the 349 councillors’ seats.
The Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) won two councillorship seats at Oke-Odan in Ifekowajo LCDA and Omu Ward in Leguru LCDA.
The Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) clinched a councillorship seat at Igbogila ward in Yewa South Local Government Area.
Announcing the final results yesterday at the OGSIEC Headquarters in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the commission’s chairman, Alhaja Risikat Ogunfemi, described the exercise as “successful and a watershed in the history of local government elections” in the state.
Mrs. Ogunfemi said the election was “credible, free, fair and free,” adding that the accreditation and voting that were done simultaneously, helped to make the election better and faster than the previous ones.
OGSIEC Commissioner III Mr. Mutiu Agboke, who declared the winners on behalf of Mrs. Ogunfemi, hailed the security agencies, the elections observers and the electorate for ensuring that the election was conducted according to the rule.
On calls by the PDP that the election be cancelled owing to what the party called “allegations of irregularities, violence and intimidation of voters”, Agboke said election could not be annulled or cancelled “by merely briefing the media”.
He urged parties or candidates who have issues with the election and its outcomes, “to feel free and approach the State Elections Petition Tribunal” that would be constituted soon by an appropriate body.
The State Chairman of Committee for the Defence of Democracy(CDHR), Yinka Folarin, who described the process as near perfect and a worthy departure from the past, said the election was “credible and fair”.
“To a very large extent and away from the usual, the election was credible, free and fair. There’s a room for improvement but this process is near perfection,” Folarin said.
The state chapter of the Inter Party Advisory Council(IPAC) passed a vote of confidence on the results of the election, saying the outcome was a true reflection of the performances of the political parties that participated in the polls.
Chairman of IPAC in Ogun State, who also doubled as the state Chairman of People for Democratic Change (PDC), Moshood Adesina, told reporters that the process was “transparent and all-inclusive”.
Adesina, who spoke in Abeokuta, the state capital, with 10 chairmen of other political parties in attendance, said the process was “free, fair, transparent and devoid of irregularities” based on reports from IPAC’s various agents on the field.
“The outcome of the election, as announced by OGSIEC, is a true and fair representation of the performance of the different political parties that participated in the process.”
But the Southwest zone of PDP has condemned the election, describing it as “ irresponsible and unacceptable” because of alleged “irregularities and violence.”
PDP Zonal Secretary, Rev. Bunmi Banjo, who addressed a news conference yesterday in the state capital, alleged that violence was masterminded by the APC and called for outright cancellation of the results