Ogun State Labour Party Slams Local Government Elections, Calls for Review
The Labour Party in Ogun State has expressed profound disappointment and dissatisfaction with the local government elections held on November 16, 2024, citing a plethora of irregularities and the disenfranchisement of voters.
The party’s state chairman, Lookman Jagun, made this assertion during an emergency press conference at the party’s secretariat, emphasizing that the elections did not meet the essential criteria for a legitimate electoral process.
Jagun characterized the election as a farce and stated that the party would not recognize any results announced following the election, which he believed was marred by grave irregularities.
He lamented that the Chairman of OGSIEC, Babatunde Osibodu, had missed an opportunity to demonstrate his capabilities during the local government elections, instead allowing the process to be compromised.
Jagun declared that the events that unfolded in Ogun State failed to meet the fundamental requirements for conducting an election, and that the people’s right to participate was gravely compromised.
“It was not an election in the real sense. The people of Ogun State were deliberately denied the opportunity to exercise their franchise, and it was a day of mass disenfranchisement,” Jagun said.
According to him, election materials were not provided in many polling units, and in those where they were present, supporters were either forced to leave or met with violence and intimidation.
“Our supporters were made to wait endlessly, only to be forced to leave or met with physical violence. In other locations, supporters were chased out of polling units, and those who resisted were met with brutal force,” Jagun said.
The Labour Party chairman accused the state government of attempting to rig the election in a crude and barbaric manner, adding that the outcome would be rejected by the party.
“The state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, had boasted that the opposition was invincible, and now we see that his plan was to rig the election in the most audacious manner. We expect better from OGSIEC, and we reject any results announced in this sham of an election,” Jagun said.
He urged OGSIEC to cancel the entire poll, citing a violation of the Ogun State electoral law, and threatened that the party would not accept any results declared.
