The African Action Congress (AAC), Oyo State Chapter, has vehemently condemned what it described the Oyo State local government election held yesterday as a “charade”, insisting that there was no election.

The party maintained that the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OSYIEC) and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) “orchestrated a show of shame, monumental electoral heist that should not be acknowledged by well-meaning Nigerians”, vowing to challenge the outcome legally and politically.

In the party’s reaction to the electoral process, the state chairman of AAC, Kayode Babayomi, in a statement on Sunday accused the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of manipulating the process.

“The “electoral” process was marred with widespread irregularities, violence, and intimidation.

“We observed serious delays in the distribution of voting materials, deliberate misplaced materials, the mobilization of PDP thugs to intimidate voters, and the undue influence of security operatives.

“The Chairman and other party members were beaten and unlawfully detained, and several of our candidates’ wards were disrupted by PDP thugs”,the AAC alleged.

The party noted that “Evidence of all these fraudulent acts are properly documented online; many of which were even posted by eligible voters in Oyo State who were grossly disappointed at the show of shame displayed by Seyi Makinde.

“We had envisaged all these because the Seyi Makinde regime lacks credibility and popularity. If the 5-year regime have served the people right, why is it scared of conducting a free and fair election?

“It is evident that the OYSIEC chairman, Isiaka Olagunje, danced to the tune of the Makinde government, undermining the integrity expected of an electoral process. The people of Oyo State have lost trust in the OYSIEC chairman and he should be sanctioned, investigated, arrested and prosecuted as an electoral offender.

“We reject the purported results announced by the coalition of PDP and OYSIEC, as they do not reflect the will of the people. We declare that there was no election, but rather a coordinated effort to subvert the democratic process.

“Our strongholds were surrounded by thugs, and there were instances of missing ballot papers and boxes, massive rigging.

“We call for the immediate cancellation of the charade; the fraudulent activity supervised by OYSIEC and that a new date for a free, fair, and transparent electoral process be set. The future of democracy in Oyo State depends on the integrity of our electoral system, and we urge all stakeholders to uphold the principles of democracy.

“We also call for the immediate arrest of the DPO, Sanyo Police Station who was shamelessly caught on camera assaulting our party Chair who was on election duty.

“We will resist this fraud by all means necessary, politically and legally. In the courts and most especially on the streets”, the party vowed.

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