Ondo Election: PDP Rejects Results, Alleges Vote Buying And Manipulation

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the results of the Ondo State governorship election, which saw the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and incumbent governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, declared the winner.

Aiyedatiwa won all 18 local government areas, securing 366,781 votes to defeat PDP’s Agboola Ajayi, who garnered 117,845 votes.

The results were announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the election held on Saturday.

In a statement on Sunday, PDP spokesperson Debo Ologunagba described the election as falling “short of all expectations and requirements of a free, fair, and credible election.”

“The Peoples Democratic Party and indeed all lovers of democracy in Nigeria and across the world have just witnessed the worst election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),” Ologunagba stated.

The PDP accused the APC of orchestrating widespread “electoral swindle, deceit, and manipulation,” citing allegations of vote buying, monetization of the process, and voter suppression.

“The poll witnessed widespread election merchandising, monetisation, and barefaced vote buying,” Ologunagba alleged, adding that the PDP would review the election outcome and “take appropriate action.”

The party called on Nigerians and the international community to take “serious action” to address election manipulation and safeguard the country’s democratic integrity.