EMMANUEL ADEYEMI, Lokoja
Former Senator and candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Kogi West senatorial District, Smart Adeyemi, has confirmed his decision to challenge the results of the just concluded election at the tribunal, pointing out that the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Dino Melaye did not actually win the election as it was laden with gross irregularities.
Adeyemi while answering questions from reporters when he went to submit his petition at the tribunal over the weekend said contrary to the Electoral Act the results of the election was collated at Lokoja instead of Kabba which is the senatorial headquarters where all the parties’ primaries held.
According to him, he expressed surprise that the same Melaye who went to court to seek for an order to compel INEC to collate and announce the results in Kabba was the same person who allegedly conspired with some INEC officials to relocate the result collation centre to Lokoja.
Adeyemi said Melaye used the court order as diversionary tactics as he and his agents, oblivious of their plans, were in the Kabba INEC office waiting for the collation and announcement of the results, while the PDP candidate and INEC were already in INEC Lokoja where the results eventually were collated and announced.
He alleged that the results sheet was doctored and manipulated on their way to Lokoja to favour Melaye because neither him nor any of the APC agents were in the vehicle that conveyed the results to Lokoja even as he claimed they were deceived to stay in Kabba.
While showing the doctored original results sheet to reporters to buttress his point, he expressed surprise why it was the portion of the PDP that was cancelled and the scores changed and upgraded while others were written neatly.
Giving more reasons while he headed to the tribunal, the APC candidate said he wanted INEC to explain to the tribunal why the total number of votes cast was higher than that of the registered voters in the senatorial Election.
According to Adeyemi, he said the total number of the PVCs was far lesser than the vote cast as the vote cast was about three times higher than the PVCs and demanded to know where the voters got extra PVCs that they used in voting on the day of Election.
Adeyemi therefore appealed to the tribunal to order for a fresh election in Kogi West senatorial district as the election that brought Dino Melaye as Senator was fraught with irregularities.
The petition was brought before Justice O. A. Chijioke for pre-hearing while a day will be set aside for the hearing of the suit. Other tribunal members are Justices E. Y. Ebri and M. A. Haruna.