For Immediate Release
Houston, Texas, USA
September 23, 2018
PDP Diaspora Initiative Urges INEC to Declare the Winner of Osun Election
PDP Diaspora Initiative has joined all lovers of democracy across Nigeria in expressing concern over the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s inexplicable delay in declaring the winner of Saturday’s Osun gubernatorial elections, and their eventual declaration of the election as inconclusive.
On Saturday, September 22, the people of Osun went to the polls and voted to elect their own governor. Based on council-by-council results announced by the returning officers, Senator Ademola Adeleke, the candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was leading after results from 18 local government areas.
“We call on INEC to explain to the people this inexplicable delay in officially declaring the winner as selected by the people through a legitimate voting exercise,” Founder and National Chair of the PDP Diaspora Initiative Hon. Victoria Pamugo said.
“There has been accusations of results altering and the world is watching,” she said.
“This behaviour needs to stop! There's no justification in delaying the declaration of the winner in an election that if held in another country, results would have been declared same day,” Hon. Pamugo lamented.
Instead of releasing the results of the elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Saturday’s Osun election as inconclusive, thereby overriding the will and decision of the people of Osun State as they massively expressed through the ballot box.
According to INEC’s current official position, a supplementary election will be held on a future date yet to be announced in order to determine the winner.
“After seeing the results from 18 local government areas, it was clear that the people of Osun were choosing PDP candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, as their next governor,” National Publicity Secretary of PDP Diaspora Initiative Chidi Igwe said.
“INEC’s decision to overrule the collective decision of the people of Osun State on the grounds that the number of cancelled votes was higher than the margin between the two top candidates does not make any sense to anybody at all,” Chidi Igwe said.
PDP Diaspora Initiative is a US-based registered non-profit organization composed of members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from all parts of the world, including Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States of America.
Signed:
Chidi Igwe
National Publicity Secretary
PDP Diaspora Initiative
www.pdpdiasporainitiative.com