PDP warns APC against parading fake election results

By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State, has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of parading fake election results and urged the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Osogbo to call the party and its governorship candidate, Gboyega Oyetola to order.
Besides, the party commended the Court of Appeal for rejecting APC and Oyetola’s request to relocate the Tribunal to Abuja.
PDP, in a statement by the state Caretaker Chairman, Dr Adekunle Akindele, and made available to newsmen on Sunday noted that the recent media publications whereby Oyetola and his team were purportedly claiming victory if unchecked may plunge the state into avoidable crisis.
Akindele, who said that there was no justifiable reasons for relocating the tribunal venue, said the state is relatively peaceful alleging that few cases of insecurity heard in the state was mostly engineered by the state government in its despairing agenda to scuttle peoples’ will.
He said: “We are therefore elated that the judicial leadership saw through the plot and adopted the position of security agencies that Osun is secured enough to host the sitting of the Tribunal.
“We must hasten to add that our objection to the relocation request was premised on the critical need to protect the integrity and safety of BVAS machines and other materials used during the elections. As the machines are likely to be central to the determination of the petition, keeping them safe here in Osun rather than exposing them to tampering and hacking on transit, is our official position.
“Our party as a law abiding organisation is however disappointed with the recklessness and utter disregard of Mr Oyetola and his team for the integrity and credibility of the judicial process. In the last few weeks, the petitioner has launched series of media publications, first alleging false admission to over-voting by defendants, misrepresenting to the public the fillings of defendants, alleging complicity of the electoral commission through doctoring of court fillings and lately creating falsified election results to purportedly claim victory.
“As much as we have attempted to correct the counterfeited claims being an interested party, Mr Oyetola and his team are so far incorrigible as they persist in their nefarious conduct of willful pervasion of facts. We have therefore come to the conclusion that ongoing election data manipulation in public domain if left unchecked by the Tribunal is capable of plunging the state into conflict ahead of the November 27 transfer of power. The polity is already over-heated and it is time Mr Oyetola is called to order before he plunge the state into avoidable crisis.
“We repeat for the sake of all lovers of democracy that all false election graphics being circulated by APC are figments of their imagination. The official results of the July 16 elections remain the authentic results. That victory of Senator Ademola Adeleke is what all defendants are defending as evidenced in their fillings at the Tribunal. We make bold to say that none of the defendants admitted to any electoral error but rather holistically articulated data and facts which authenticated the electoral victory of Senator Adeleke.
The party then urged the Tribunal to invoke relevant sanctions against Oyetola and his party for undermining the judiciary, for misinforming the public, for doctoring court documents, for attempting to bringing the court into disrepute and for pre-empting decisions of the justices.