Osun Election: APC Rejects INEC Verdict, Declares ‘Adeleke Did Not Score Highest Valid Votes

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the declaration of Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the Osun State governorship election, insisting that its preliminary assessment suggests he did not obtain the highest number of valid votes.

The Director-General of the APC Governorship Campaign Council in Osun State, Oluwole Oke, disclosed this on Monday night while speaking on Arise TV.

Oke said the party had commenced a comprehensive review of the election and instructed its agents across the state to submit copies of Forms EC8A, EC8B and EC8C for examination.

According to him, the APC would scrutinise the electoral documents and relevant materials before determining its next line of action.

“We do not agree with the declaration of INEC. That’s our position for now. We believe he did not score the highest valid votes.”

The campaign director-general stressed that the party would not rush to take further steps until it had carefully examined the available records and established what transpired during the election.

He explained that the review would involve documents from polling units, wards and local government collation centres.

“When you have a project of this nature with the outcome announced by INEC, we will not be in a haste, nor shall we be under pressure without doing the needful.

“The needful that we need to do is to evaluate the process, get all the records, review the process, and then form an opinion.”

Oke said the party had already begun the audit by asking its agents to submit copies of the relevant result sheets to the APC secretariat.

“We have embarked on an audit process. We have asked all our party agents to submit copies of Forms EC8A, B, and C to our secretariat for review. We need to inspect the materials.”

He added that the outcome of the review would determine the APC’s final position, which the party would make public after completing its assessment.

APC Examines Pre-Election Issues

Oke further disclosed that the APC’s review would not be limited to events that occurred on election day, as the party was also examining issues that preceded the poll.

He said the party would assess the election against the provisions of the Electoral Act and other relevant laws before deciding whether further action was necessary.

“There are a lot of issues before us. There are a lot of issues for determination, even on a pre-election basis.

“Even for the election itself, I’ve just told you that even if it’s just for the records and the future, we are determined to look at all the records, look at the processes put in place by the Electoral Act and relevant statutes.”

According to him, the party would only make further pronouncements after completing its assessment and reaching a position based on the available evidence.

APC Dismisses Claims of Internal Division

Oke also rejected claims that internal disagreements within the APC significantly affected the party’s performance during the election.

He argued that disagreements and disputes were common within political parties but did not necessarily prevent members from working together during elections.

The APC campaign chief cited the Accord Party as an example, claiming that its chairman publicly endorsed the APC candidate despite reported disagreements within the party.

“If you are talking about internal divisions, even the Accord Party itself is divided. The chairman of the Accord Party endorsed our candidate openly in public.”

Oke maintained that political parties often experience internal disputes but are capable of closing ranks when it matters most.

“Within a political party, disputes and misunderstandings are bound, but the fact remains that the party comes together at the polls to ensure victory.”

He also pointed to the legal dispute within the Accord Party over its governorship candidate as evidence that internal disagreements were not peculiar to the APC.

The APC is expected to announce its final position on the Osun governorship election after completing its review of the results, electoral documents and other relevant materials.