APC rejects Delta State election results as Inec declares Governor Okowa the winner

ALL Progressives Congress (APC) leaders in Delta State have rejected the results of the gubernatorial elections and have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) to cancel the exercise accusing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of rigging.

On Saturday, Deltans went to the polls in what was a two-horse race between incumbent Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of the PDP and Chief Great Ogboru of the APC. Earlier today, Inec declared Governor Okowa the winner of the election, saying he won in 23 of the state's local government areas, with 925,274 to Chief Ogboru's 215,938 votes.

However, the APC has rejected the results, claiming they were still leading in the count and Inec contrived to declare Governor Okowa the winner. Prophet Jones Erue, the chairman of the Delta State chapter of the APC, accused the PDP of ballot box snatching, over-voting, buying of votes and impunity.

He added that the election was marred by violence as three persons were murdered in cold blood, saying it was the worst election ever conducted in Delta State. According to Prophet Erue, PDP thugs armed with weapons, snatched and burnt ballot papers and result sheets in APC strongholds.

Prophet Erue also alleged that across Delta North to South and Central, PDP thugs had exhibited a rapacious thirst for blood and an eerie appetite for violence as they left many innocent voters in pools of blood. He also accused security agents of aiding PDP thugs to cart away ballot boxes at the unit, wards and collation centres.

“The object of their gory adventure was to tilt the election results in favour of the PDP. This unpatriotic and satanic objective was indeed achieved but not without exposing their unabashed criminality to grab power so they can subject Deltans to another four years of exploitation and crude pillage of our collective patrimony.

“Indeed the disparity between the Inec card readers and records of accreditation and the votes being declared at the collation centres across the state exposed their crass breach of the electoral process and villainous infringement of the law. Inec chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu had stated that where there are more voters than the number recorded by the card readers, the results in that area shall be annulled," Prophet Erue added.

He called on the Inec chairman to instantly annul the result and re-conduct the exercise at the nearest date possible in line with extant laws and with all necessary logistics put in place to ensure a free and fair election. It is not yet clear if the APC will challenge the election results in court.