The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been pressured to annul the gubernatorial election that took place in Ogun state on Saturday, 18th March 2023, which saw the re-election of Governor Dap Abiodun. The election has come under scrutiny following allegations of electoral malpractices, including reports of vote buying, ballot box snatching, and intimidation of voters in some polling units.
According to a statement by a reporter who was present at the election, some political parties were denied the opportunity to submit their candidates for the election, while the logos of some parties were missing from the ballot papers. These irregularities have led to calls for the cancellation of the election and for a fresh one to be conducted.
In response to these allegations, Ms Abimbola, the leader of an observer group that monitored the election, has called for action to be taken to address the irregularities. She stated that the election results should not be accepted and that a fresh election should be conducted as soon as possible to maintain the integrity of democracy in Ogun state and Nigeria as a whole.
Ms Abimbola further noted that the elections in Ogun state must not be accepted to maintain the sanity of democracy for the people of Ogun state. She said: “INEC deliberately denied some political parties’ submission of candidates, while some parties’ logos were missing on the ballot paper. To save our democracy and our country, the present election results must not be accepted by Nigerians and by all friends of Nigeria. We are therefore calling for the cancellation of the 2023 governorship election in Ogun State, New election should be conducted as soon as possible.”
The observer group believes that the will of the people must be respected, and their votes must count in every election. Therefore, they call on all relevant authorities to investigate the allegations of electoral malpractices in Ogun state and take appropriate actions to ensure that justice is served.
It remains to be seen how the relevant authorities will respond to these calls for action, but it is clear that the allegations of irregularities in the Ogun state gubernatorial election must be addressed to maintain the integrity of democracy in Nigeria.
