The All Progressives Congress in Ekiti State has criticised Saturday’s House of Assembly election in the state, saying the exercise fell short of free and fair elections.
The Publicity Secretary of the APC, Taiwo Olatubosun, said in a statement on Saturday night that there were cases of alleged intimidation by policemen and thugs allegedly deployed to polling units across the state by Governor Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Olatubosun explained that intimidation of opponents began on Friday with many unpleasant reports of state-sponsored intimidation, which accounted for the low turn-out of voters across the state.
“To be specific, APC members were driven to the bush in many towns across the state. They included Efon Alaaye, where PDP thugs did not allow any APC member to participate in accreditation while no party agent was allowed to stay in any of the polling units in the town.
“In Ijan, the traditional ruler of the town personally banished some dwellers in the farm settlement dwellers of Ilupeju-Ijan because of their refusal to vote for the PDP as he decreed. The dwellers on their hundreds left their abodes and could not vote for the party of their choice.”
Olatubosun said APC members in Ilejemeje Local Government Area were driven into the bush while thugs and policemen from the Government House did most of the thumb printing of the ballot papers.
He added: “In Ikere Ekiti, thugs and policemen from the Government House did not allow APC members to vote while party agents were driven into the bush. In Afao Ekiti, Fayose’s town, many APC members were not allowed to vote as they were driven into the bush by Fayose’s thugs imported into the town last night.”
The statement also noted that in Oke-Ako country home of factional Speaker, Hon. Dele Olugbemi, thugs and fake policemen were shooting to scare voters away while they were engaged in illegal thumb printing of ballot papers.
The statement added: “In Ijero Local Government, it was the same story as thugs chased away voters and carted away voting materials, including ballot boxes, and later thumb-printed papers and deposited them in the ballot boxes, while in Ado Ekiti, policemen attached to the Gvernment House, who were not accredited to monitor election, arrested APC members illegally but were only released when the people protested that they were on illegal mission. They were thereafter detained.”
Olatubosun said the PDP candidate in Irepodun/Ifelodun Constituency 2, Sanya Aladeyelu, was moving from his town, Eyio, to Esure and Iropora with fake policemen harassing voters, while in Itaji, Ayede, Ilemeso and Ilafon, thugs under the command of one Dr. Omotoso raided polling units and carted away ballot papers which they later thumb printed.
He explained that in Igogo, thugs and policemen from the Government House carted away ballot boxes after shooting into the air to scare away voters.
The people went on protest over this.
He added: “This is the trend in most parts of the state. Added to this is the fact that result sheets were not available in many polling units across the state while voting materials came late. We strongly believe that most of the results of the election were written since yesterday at the Government House by Governor Fayose.”
Olatubosun explained that Adedara, who was APC candidate in Ikere Constituency 2, was illegally arrested at his polling unit by a purported mobile police man in mufti.