The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Sunday, rejected the result of the Ekiti State governorship election which declared Kayode Fayemi, All Progressives Congress’, APC, candidate the governor-elect.
The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, described the result as having been concocted by the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and security agencies.
It claimed that the electoral process was characterised by open alteration of results, brutalisation of innocent citizens, barefaced cruelty and intimidation of PDP members by security agencies.
It said the alleged “brazen assault against democracy and a direct subversion of the will of the people” was completely unacceptable.
The PDP said it was armed with the details of all manipulations by the APC as allegedly aided by security agencies and compromised INEC officials to rig the election.
It pointed out that there were in particular, the audacious alteration and substitution of election results in favour of the APC at the collation centres amidst the brutalisation of PDP agents.
The PDP also said it had details of all the polling units where it won, mostly with very wide margin ahead of the APC, only for the security agencies to aid the swapping and alteration of such results with those smuggled in by the APC at the collation centres.
“It is instructive to state that all the issues we raised ahead of the election, including the conspiracy between the APC, some compromised INEC officials and security agencies; the importation of thugs from other states by the APC; the use of brutal force against our members and the alteration of results in favour of the APC, have all manifested.
“The PDP holds strongly that there is no way our democracy can survive with an electoral process such as this, being witnessed today in Ekiti State under President Muhammadu Buhari and the current INEC.
“This bald-faced subversion of the will of the people is a clear recipe for a serious crisis and we invite Nigerians and the international community to hold President Buhari and his APC as well as the INEC Chairman and heads of security agencies in Nigeria responsible for any breakdown of law and order in Ekiti State as a result of this election.
“This on-going robbery of the franchise of Ekiti people is a horrible rape of our democracy and most uncharitable of President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC who hugely benefitted from the credible election midwifed by the PDP in 2015,” the statement reads in part.