By Bologi M. Maikudi
The Coalition of United Political Parties has described the governorship rerun election in seven polling units in Osun State as a show of shame.
It also expressed worry that the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Nigerian security forces had allegedly turned themselves into organs of the All Progressives Congress.
A statement from the secretariat of the coalition signed by its spokesman, Ikenga Ugochinyere, in Abuja, said that it was unfortunate that the same INEC that claimed to have cancelled results of some Polling Units due to disruption “watched with collaborative silence as security forces comprising the police, civil defence, Federal Road Safety Corps, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigerian Army comfortably turned themselves into the joint militant wing of the vote-stealing APC.”
He added, “For the very first time in Nigeria’s electoral history, accredited journalists and observers were manhandled and stopped from accessing voting areas. Security forces watched while APC thugs molested and intimidated voters, dispossessed them of their Permanent Voter Cards and abducted accredited agents of the opposition.
“The deduction of votes from Senator Adeleke, the fictitious adding of votes for Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, and suspicious declaration of an election adjudged by all INEC accredited observers as the freest and fairest in recent times as inconclusive due to disruptions is akin to INEC discrediting its own process just to please the APC.”
