We disagree with INEC, Adeleke didn’t win Osun poll – APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship campaign in Osun State has rejected the outcome of the August 15 governorship election, insisting that Governor Ademola Adeleke did not secure the highest number of valid votes.

The Director-General of the APC governorship campaign, Oluwole Oke, disclosed this during an interview with Arise News on Monday, explaining why the party had yet to congratulate Adeleke on his re-election.

Oke said the campaign organisation disagreed with the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and had commenced a review of the election materials before deciding on its next course of action.

“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.

He said the APC would not be pressured into accepting the result until it completed a thorough assessment of the electoral process.

“And like I’ve told you that what we are doing, even for future, for records, is to conduct a thorough review of the entire process and then form our opinion.

“We won’t be under any sort of pressure to easily reach out to congratulate Senator Ademola Adeleke,” he added.

APC Begins Review of Election Materials

INEC had declared Adeleke, the Accord candidate, winner after he polled 511,067 votes, defeating the APC candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who scored 444,815 votes.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Najeem Salaam, finished third with 17,180 votes.

Adeleke won in 19 local government areas, while Oyebamiji secured 11, leaving the incumbent with a 66,252-vote margin.

Despite President Bola Tinubu congratulating Adeleke after the declaration, Oke said the position of the APC campaign team remained unchanged as it focused on examining the election.

He disclosed that the party had commenced an audit of the poll and directed its agents across the state to submit relevant election documents for scrutiny.

“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,” Oke said.

According to him, the review would cover the conduct of the election as well as events preceding the poll, including compliance with the Electoral Act and other relevant laws.

APC May Go to Court

Oke indicated that the party could explore legal options if its review uncovered sufficient grounds for further action.

He noted that the electoral process did not necessarily end with INEC’s declaration and could proceed through the election tribunal, Court of Appeal and, where necessary, the Supreme Court.

“Until we do that and form our opinion, we won’t be able to go further to say anything on this,” he stated.

The APC campaign organisation urged its members and supporters to remain calm while it completes its assessment of the election and determines its next step.

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