Mr Ajayi Agboola, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has berated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the conduct of the ongoing polls, describing the process as flawed.
Mr Ajayi, who cast his vote at Polling Unit 004 in Apoi Ward 2, Kiriboin, Ese-Odo Local Government Area, expressed disappointment with the slow pace of the exercise, which he claimed was a deliberate attempt to manipulate the process.
“The system is not perfect, things are not working,” he remarked after voting. “It took them more than 10 minutes to capture me, who is the candidate of the PDP here. All of us are here. You can see the drama. There are a lot of complaints here and there,” he added.
Speaking further, he raised concerns about INEC’s capacity to organize credible elections.
“If INEC cannot successfully organise an election in one state, then you must know that we are running into anarchy,” he said.
The former deputy governor further alleged that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Barr. Oluwatoyin Babalola, could not be impartial, stating, “We have said severally that we don’t trust Barr. Oluwatoyin Babalola (REC). That this woman cannot be fair.”
He described the election as a “shameful exercise,” pointing to reports of vote-buying and failures with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).
“The system is compromised and I have had a series of calls today. People are complaining about vote buying and the BVAS is not working. It is a very shameful exercise and I think Nigerians should just call on the chairman of the electoral commission Prof Mahmood Yakubu. If you cannot do the job, please just honourably resign. He should resign. This is embarrassing. It [election] is totally compromised,” he concluded.
