*Pix above(r-l): APC and PDP
The Kwara State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hon. Babatunde Mohammed, has described the conduct of Saturday’s Local Government polls in the state as the worst in the history of the state, with All Progressives Congress (APC) winning all available chairmanship and councillorship seats in Local Governments of the state.
Babatunde, in an interview with journalists in Ilorin, the state capital, also described the exercise as a failure and blamed the Kwara State Electoral Commission (KWASIEC) for not preparing well for the polls.
He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of using its members as electoral officers in many polling units including that of his Omupo community in Ifelodun Local Government Area of the state.
According to him, “I have never seen this kind of election in my life. It’s the worst in the history of Kwara State.
“We are still compiling situation reports across the 16 local governments. After we have done that, then we will decide on the position to take on the election.”
Meanwhile, the people of Offa in Offa Local Government Area of the state have flayed the inability of the state electoral body to conduct free and fair council polls in the area.
The PDP chairmanship candidate in the election, Mr. Salahudeen Lukman, in a chat with journalists at Offa town, Saturday, said no election took place in the local government area as election materials did not arrive in about 95 per cent of the polling units in the council.
He said: “Despite the election being scheduled to commence at 8:00 am, as at 1:00 pm on Saturday, voting materials had yet to arrive at 95% of the polling units across the 173 polling units in Offa Local Government Area.
“The good people of Offa Local Government experienced another great disappointment in the unworthy act of kwara State Independent Electoral Commission today (Saturday). The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and concerned stakeholders in Offa Local Government Area wish to notify the general public and relevant authorities that no election took place today, September 21st, 2024, in Offa LG due to severe logistical failures and irregularities.
“Despite the election being scheduled to commence at 8:00 am, as at 1:00 pm, voting materials had yet to arrive at 95% of the polling units across the 173 polling units in Offa Local Government Area.
“The few where materials were delivered, critical components such as ballot papers were incomplete, and result sheets were entirely unavailable in all units.
“This unfortunate situation has left voters frustrated and unable to exercise their democratic rights. The delays and lack of essential materials call into question the credibility and preparedness of the electoral process in Offa LG.
“We call on the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC) to urgently address these issues and reschedule the election in a transparent and timely manner to ensure that the people of Offa can participate in a free, fair and credible election.
“We also urge all citizens to remain calm and await further updates from the relevant authorities.”(agency)///
