The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has strongly criticized the outcome of the local government elections held on Saturday in Ondo State, describing the process as “broad daylight robbery.”
The election, organized by the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC), took place across the 18 local government areas and 203 wards of the state. Despite the participation of 12 political parties, voter turnout was reportedly low, attributed to the heavy deployment of armed security personnel at polling units.
ODIEC declared the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of all chairmanship and councillorship positions in the election.
However, SDP Chairman, Ebenezer Akinbuli, in a press briefing in Akure on Monday, condemned the election as fraudulent. He alleged widespread irregularities, including voter intimidation and favoritism toward the APC.
“In areas like Ondo East and Odigbo local government areas, the absence of security personnel at polling stations forced our members to take up security responsibilities. This contributed to the low turnout,” Akinbuli stated.
The SDP chairman also accused ODIEC of colluding with the APC, citing incidents of pre-marked ballot papers and improper collation of results.
“We are condemning the outcome of the election because it lacked compliance with the rules. It was a broad daylight robbery. Presiding officers weren’t given proper result sheets but blank sheets to write results. Collation wasn’t done at designated centres but at ODIEC’s office,” Akinbuli alleged.
He called for the cancellation of the election and demanded the resignation of the ODIEC chairman, accusing him of overseeing a compromised process. Akinbuli also revealed that an SDP candidate in Ondo East was attacked during the election. The party plans to challenge the results at the local government election tribunal.
Efforts to get a response from the ODIEC chairman were unsuccessful as of press time.
Meanwhile, ODIEC on Monday awarded Certificates of Return to the 18 elected chairpersons and their deputies.
The ODIEC chairman, Dr. Joseph Aremo, commended voters for their dedication to democracy and urged the newly elected officials to fulfill their responsibilities with integrity.
Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa hailed the election as a step towards grassroots development, while the chairman-elect of Akure South, Gbenga Fasua, promised to deliver on his campaign pledges.
