President Bola Tinubu has urged political parties and candidates angry with the outcome of the Ondo State governorship election to take their grievances to court.
He made the appeal in a statement issued by his spokesman, Chief Bayo Onanuga on Sunday.
Recall that governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), after he won all 18 local government areas of the state.
Onanuga stated, “The President urges candidates dissatisfied with the outcome of the election to explore the opportunities provided by the judicial system to seek redress on areas of conflict.”
While congratulating Aiyedatiwa, Tinubu expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the election, commending INEC, the police, and other security agencies for their roles during the process.
“Aiyedatiwa and other candidates of the 17 political parties demonstrated maturity and a sense of purpose during the campaigns and the election, attributing the success of the polls to the civility in the state”, the statement quoting Mr Tinubu as saying.
Tinubu also commended INEC for its performance, highlighting the timely deployment of staff and materials, as well as the efficient uploading of over 98% of results on the election day.
The State Returning Officer, Professor Olayemi Durotimi Akinwunmi from the Federal University Lokoja, declared Aiyedatiwa the winner on Sunday afternoon.
He polled 366,781 votes, while his closest rival, Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), secured 117,845 votes.
Despite the APC’s dominance across all 18 local government areas, allegations of electoral malpractice surfaced. The PDP’s agent for Idanre Local Government Area claimed instances of vote-buying and ballot box snatching.
Also, the agent alleged that voting did not occur in some areas of Idanre and formally called for the nullification of results from the local government.