"The outcome of the local government election in Ondo State, where the unpopular Peoples Democratic Party in the State won all 18 local government chairmanship seats, clearly vindicated our position that this election is a mere selection process, as those said to have been elected had been selected beforehand."
The All Progressives Congress (APC), the main opposition party in Ondo State, has described Saturday’s local government election as a "charade" to mock the growing democracy of the State.
The party, in a statement signed by its Director of Publicity, Steve Otaloro, on Monday, said the outcome of the council election has vindicated the APC position that the exercise was a mere selection process.
The statement obtained by SaharaReporters in Akure further stated that those declared as chairmen in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 18 council areas of the State after the Saturday council poll had been selected beforehand.
"The outcome of the local government election in Ondo State, where the unpopular Peoples Democratic Party in the State won all 18 local government chairmanship seats, clearly vindicated our position that this election is a mere selection process, as those said to have been elected had been selected beforehand,” the party said in its statement.
Mr. Otaloro added that the PDP not only rigged the election, but also fabricated voter turnout rates in order to make the election seem fair.
"The party also used deceptive manners to field their party members for some mushroom parties that do not exist in the State and when it was evident the election was not a contested one, they still rigged it in huge figures to create the impression of an impressive turnout.
"All the names of the chairmen in the 18 local government councils along with their councilors had been written down and handed over to the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) Chairman, Olugbenga Ige, before the election for eventual announcement after the polls," Mr. Otaloro said.
The spokesman averred that the apathy witnessed during the conduct of the Saturday local government elections was a result of a low turnout of voters, mostly civil servants, who were being deliberately starved by the incumbent government of Governor Mimiko in all the 18 council areas of the State.
"It was observed that some communities refused to turn out to vote because of several complaints they have against the PDP-led government that culminated in the refusal of the government to intervene in the total darkness that has enveloped their areas for many years.
"The politically discerning people of Ondo State have also come to realize that Dr. Olusegun Mimiko prefers government by oligarchy, as he could only trust his few close allies to head the local government councils for the past seven years. They believed this election would not be different,” he said.
The APC reiterated its earlier position to use all legal means to challenge the illegality in the local government election conducted by the outgoing maladministration of embattled Governor Mimiko.
The party added that the people of the State have decided not to be fooled by Mr. Mimiko's perfidious intrigues of earning their trust through the local government election meant to bequeath him a legacy.
Civil servants in the State have shunned the Saturday poll, citing nonpayment of their salaries and bonuses as one of the reasons for their abstinence.
Some of the top government workers who have been speaking with a SaharaReporters correspondent alleged that the government of Mr. Mimiko spent no fewer than N6 billion naira on the Saturday poll.