BREAKING: (Kogi) SDP Candidate Ajaka, supporters protest to INEC Headquarters in Abuja, demands Yakubu’s Resignation

Muritala Ajaka, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate in Saturday’s Kogi State governorship election, and hundreds of his supporters stormed the Independent National Electoral Commission’s headquarters on Tuesday to protest the election’s outcome.

The All Progressives Congress candidate, Ahmed Usman Ododo, was declared the election winner by INEC on Sunday with 446,237 votes.

According to the electoral body, Ajaka finished second with 259,052 votes, while Senator Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party finished third with 46,362 votes.

Platinum Times has learned that the SDP candidate and his disgruntled supporters went to the INEC headquarters in Abuja to express their discontent with the election’s conduct and outcome.

The demonstrators demanded that INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu resign or declare Ajaka the winner of the poll within the seven-day scrutiny period.

During the protest, SaharaReporters noticed considerable security at the INEC headquarters.

They noticed that Kogi Central reported overvoting in all five of its local government areas and expressed surprise that the results were accepted rather than cancelled.

Meanwhile, Ajaka said it would be a waste of time to contest the election results in court if he lost to Ododo.

Ajaka said that the election was manipulated with the help of INEC.

Ajaka stated on Channels TV’s ‘The 2023 Verdict: Off-Cycle Elections,’ on Sunda, that if the election was permitted to take place, the country would descend into anarchy.

He said,

“In the whole of the five local governments in central, the whole of the five local governments in central, there was no election anywhere. They wrote results. Result sheets were given to Yahaya Bello

“In Okene local government, they turned out over 130,000 votes, haba! And INEC accepted that result and what is on the BVAS is less than 30,000.

“With all due respect to the person of the INEC chairman, if they don’t do a checklist and investigate their officials that went to Kogi State and allow this to stand, I doubt if there will be election in 2027.

“Because people will go into that election armed and I fear Somalia will be a child’s play.

“If we knew it would be the same old music, we would have played along with that old music by inflating the results from my area.

“When the commission told us yesterday that they were looking into this case, we were hopeful, that is why everybody relaxed. Only for them now to collate these results. It is annoying. Three local governments are producing 230,000-something votes.”

When asked why he was agitated since he had evidence to prove that the election was rigged, Ajaka said, “What am I going to court to do when the same INEC that did this is going to come as a witness to defend what they did? So it is a waste of time.

When asked if that meant that he would not challenge the outcome of the election in court if he lost, he replied, “To do what? Except the party people because I’m hugely disappointed. If the INEC chairman allows this to stand, they are looking for trouble in Nigeria.

“You gave me assurance that the election would be transparent, you allowed me to waste my time, spend my money, mobilise my people, only for you to write the results. Even if I’m not sad about it, you expect my supporters to be happy.

“I assure you if they allow this to stand as they are allowing in all the states now, they are calling for anarchy in this country.”