By Akinwale Kasali
There is palpable tension in Magongo Area of Ogori-Magongo Local Government Area of Kogi State, as residents have took to the streets to protest against alleged manipulation of the Governorship election results by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Crisis started in the area when some allegedly, pre-recorded results in favour if the APC were discovered in some polling units in the Local Government Area.
About 120 votes were allocated to the APC while the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, were given one vote each.
The results were said to be written on the result sheets before the commencement of accreditation and voting.
The protesters gathered at the Magongo RAC centre, where the INEC officials and materials were stationed, and demanded that the pre-recorded results be cancelled and a free and fair election be conducted.
They described the attempt to rig the election as unacceptable and an insult to their democratic rights.
It was also gathered that in Okehi Local Government Area of the State was the same scenario as the APC were said to have major Polling Units in the areas, with allegations that those behind the pre-recorded result are offering other parties’ agents bribes to sign the document.
This news medium gathered that APC agents were offering voters money – between N10,000 and N20,000 depending on the negotiations – to vote for their party’s candidate, Usman Ododo.
The crisis has prompted INEC to swing into action by investigating the allegation as the electoral body in a short statement released on its X (formerly Twitter) handle, said it considered the situation as serious and asked their senior staff members to investigate the matter.
The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a report that filled result sheets were discovered in some polling units in Kogi State.
“The Commission views this situation seriously. Our senior officials deployed to the State are currently investigating the incident(s). The Commission will communicate its decision earnestly”.
