The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State have engaged in a war of words over the outcome of the September 21 local government election in the state.
The PDP, which has rejected the outcome of Saturday’s local government election, alleged that the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC) manipulated the poll.
In a statement by the state publicity secretary of the party, Olusegun Adewara, the PDP called for a fresh election, stating that it may explore legal avenues if a new poll is not conducted.
The opposition party, which has requested an election petition tribunal headed by a High Court judge, rejected the tribunal set up by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.
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The party also thanked its members, supporters, and the people of Kwara State for turning out en masse to exercise their civil rights on the day of the election.
Meanwhile, the ruling APC has hailed the outcome of the local government election, describing the poll as a triumph of democracy.
The state APC chairman, Prince Sunday Fagbemi, commended the people of Kwara State for their large turnout and peaceful conduct during the election. He stated that official results from polling units in the 16 local government areas showed impressive performance by the party in both chairmanship and councillorship elections across the 16 local council areas.
“We commend the electoral body, KWSIEC, for its good showing, the impartiality of its officials, and its prompt and professional responses to the late arrival of materials and procedural hitches in a few areas.
“We condemn the futile attempts of the opposition PDP to disrupt the election in some parts, especially in Offa, where miscreants made fruitless efforts to undermine the process. A popular party had no reason to disrupt the election process, yet that was what the PDP tried to do after its initial plan to stop the election through the courts failed woefully. We thank the electorate for resisting their antics and voting for our party.”
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