INEC Under Fire for Collating Results Despite Over-Voting in Kogi Governorship Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been accused of compromising the integrity of the electoral process in Kogi State, where the governorship election was held on Saturday.

Several stakeholders have alleged that INEC ignored cases of overvoting in some local government areas and proceeded to collate and announce the results.

According to Daily Trust, some stakeholders claimed that the election results displayed on the IREV portal showed that the number of votes cast exceeded the number of accredited voters in Okehi, Adavi, and Okene LGAs. However, the Kogi State Collation Officer, Prof. Sani Mohammed, upheld the results and dismissed the allegations.

The development has sparked outrage among some candidates and activists, who have called for the intervention of INEC headquarters and the cancellation of the election. They cited instances of irregularities, violence, and manipulation that marred the election across the state.

One of the aggrieved candidates, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), said that INEC cancelled results in Bayelsa over cases of over voting and should do the same in Kogi. He said that his party was being punished for being law-abiding and that he would not accept the outcome of the election.

Another candidate, Senator Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also demanded the annulment of the election, describing it as shameful and unhealthy. He said that no election took place in the five local governments of the Central senatorial district, where manual accreditation was conducted, the Biometric Verification Authentication System (BVAS) was not utilised, and result sheets were prepared before the election.

Melaye accused INEC of being untrustworthy, biased, and lacking neutrality. He alleged that INEC officials and youth corps members were caught with prepared result sheets and money before the election. He said that a youth corps member was arrested in Kogi Central with a prepared result and N1 million.

Similarly, Kogi activist, Austin Okai criticised INEC for collating results amidst infractions and attempting to impose a governor without the people’s mandate. He presented figures from Adavi, Okehi, and Okene LGAs which indicated significant over voting. He wondered how INEC could continue collating the election results it admitted was full of infractions. He called for the total cancellation of the results.

Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Police in Kogi state, CSP Asinim Butswat, said that the police were on top of the situation and would ensure the security of lives and property. He said that the police had arrested some suspects in connection with the election violence and would prosecute them accordingly.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has not commented on the allegations of over voting and irregularities in the Kogi governorship election. He said that the commission would announce the winner of the election after the collation of the results from all the 21 local government areas in the state.

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