#Kogidecides2023: SDP Guber Candidate Sees Victory Amid Chaos

The Social Democratic Party’s (SDP) candidate for the Kogi governorship election, Muritala Ajaka, has stressed that he would emerge victorious.

Muritala Ajaka made this statement shortly after he cast his vote at Owoli-Apa 002, PU 005, which is situated in the Idah local government area.

Ajaka also praised the security personnel for their professionalism in guaranteeing a nonviolent election throughout the state. He also hailed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) but noted that the process was not as perfect as expected.

Meanwhile, in a statement through his media aide, Mr Faruk Adejoh-Audu, Muritala Ajaka alleged election malpractice and urged INEC to investigate the allegation.

The statement reads: “Our agents who went to a few ward collation centers in the early hours of this morning to inspect materials before accepting to take them to polling units discovered that no result sheets were available for any of the units or ward collation centers.

“In Olamaboro Ward 5 where agents of all parties escorted the Supervisory Presiding Officers, Presiding Officers, and other INEC staff with security to the ward headquarters in Inele-Ugo last night, they went back to commence deployment of the materials to the polling units this morning and discovered that the entire INEC staff, materials and the security personnel have all disappeared from the Roman Catholic Mission Primary School where they left them.”

The statement added: “These developments signpost reports of outrageous malpractices and manipulations that are already emerging from several areas across the state.

“Our situation room is also inundated with reports of INEC IT staff and some ward collation officers camped in three Lokoja hotels overnight to manipulate BVAS Machines and pre-fill result sheets of Lokoja, Ajaokuta and Kogi LGAs.

“There are reports of thugs riding on motorbikes to evade the checkpoints of soldiers to attack remote polling units in Dekina, Ofu, Olamaboro, Bassa, and Ankpa LGA.

“We are immediately drawing the attention of the INEC National Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, the Returning Officer for Kogi State, Election observers, local and international, and head of security agencies to these outrageous electoral breeches and demanding that the commission keeps to its vow to reject results from areas that have been compromised by violence, malpractice or manipulations”.