The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the declaration of Governor Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the Osun State governorship election, insisting that its initial assessment suggests he did not obtain the highest number of valid votes.
The party said it would first conduct a detailed review of the election results and relevant electoral documents before deciding whether to challenge the outcome.
The Director-General of the APC Governorship Campaign Council in Osun State, Oluwole Oke, disclosed this on Monday night during an interview with Arise TV.
Oke said the party had already commenced an internal audit of the election and directed its agents across the state to submit copies of the relevant result sheets for verification.
He identified Forms EC8A, EC8B and EC8C as some of the documents the party would scrutinise as it assesses the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“We do not agree with the declaration of INEC. That’s our position for now. We believe he did not score the highest valid votes,” Oke said.
APC begins review of Osun results
According to the APC campaign chief, the party would examine results from polling units, wards and local government collation centres as part of the process.
He said the party was deliberately avoiding a hasty reaction, stressing that it wanted to establish the facts before determining its next move.
“When you have a project of this nature with the outcome announced by INEC, we will not be in a haste, nor shall we be under pressure without doing the needful,” Oke said.
He explained that APC agents had been instructed to submit copies of the result forms to the party secretariat, where they would be compared and reviewed.
“We have embarked on an audit process. We have asked all our party agents to submit copies of Forms EC8A, B, and C to our secretariat for review. We need to inspect the materials,” he added.
Oke said the outcome of the audit would guide the party’s decision and determine whether it would take further action.
The APC said its review would not be limited to the votes recorded on election day.
Oke disclosed that the party was also examining events and issues that occurred before the election, as well as the procedures adopted during the conduct of the poll.
He said the party would assess the process against the Electoral Act and other relevant electoral laws before reaching a final position.
“There are a lot of issues before us. There are a lot of issues for determination, even on a pre-election basis,” he said.
Also Read:Abia pension row deepens as retirees challenge Otti govt to probe arrears
Oke added that the party wanted to examine the entire process “for the records and the future” before deciding whether there were grounds for further action.
He maintained that the APC would only make a definitive statement after completing its assessment.
APC dismisses claims of internal division
Meanwhile, Oke rejected claims that divisions within the APC significantly contributed to the party’s performance at the poll.
He argued that disagreements were not unusual in political parties and did not necessarily prevent members from working together during elections.
The APC campaign chief pointed to developments within the Accord Party, claiming that its chairman had publicly endorsed the APC candidate despite reported disagreements within the party.
“If you are talking about internal divisions, even the Accord Party itself is divided. The chairman of the Accord Party endorsed our candidate openly in public,” he said.
Oke acknowledged that disputes could occur within political parties but maintained that such disagreements did not automatically translate into disunity at the polls.
The APC campaign council said it would announce its final position on the Osun governorship election after completing its examination of the results, electoral documents and other relevant materials.