He also described the poll as a waste of "resources, energy, time and a display of thuggery," insisting that there was no election.
A councillorship candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) for the Lagelu Ward 1, in the April 2024 Local Government election in Oyo State, Olabiyi Ade Stephen, has described the poll as rigged.
He also described the poll as a waste of "resources, energy, time and a display of thuggery," insisting that there was no election.
Olabiyi stated this in a statement titled: ‘LG Poll: Seyi Makinde And OYSIEC Failed To Protect The Power Of The People Against Disenfranchisement And Mass Rigging.’
He said the April election laid bare the growing concern about the disenfranchisement of voters and mass rigging. According to him, the flaws undermine the essence of democracy, which is built on the principle of one person, one vote.
He said, "Governor Seyi Makinde, his cronies, and Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) led by Aare Iziaq Olagunju conducted a sham election that deliberately disenfranchised millions of voters in the state."
He said the election was not held at many designated polling units.
Olabiyi said voters waited in the sun for hours in vain, while the few polling units where votes were cast either received the wrong materials or had OYSIEC officials arriving late at polling units.
He said sponsored hoodlums ran the show as electoral officers at some polling units.
Citing an example, he said that at IDC Primary School in Lagelu Ward 1, "suspected non-PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) electorates were threatened to leave the polling unit or be dealt with. Only the ruling party, PDP supporters were allowed to vote, and each of them was given ten ballot papers”.
He said, "It's on record that, many voters, opposition candidates and their agents took to the internet to report the fraudulent election from various polling units across the state because Governor Seyi Makinde and his men at OYSIEC led by Aare Iziaq Olagunju (SAN) had perfected their strategy of RIGGING and disenfranchisement in favour of the ruling party in the state.
"Through the disenfranchisement strategy, Seyi Makinde and Olagunju violated the fundamental rights of the people to participate in the democratic process. It silences the voices of already under-represented groups, perpetuating systemic inequality and further entrenching the power of the privileged. It was so obvious that the Mass rigging was a large-scale manipulation of election results through various fraudulent means.
"This includes tampering with ballot papers, ballot stuffing, and falsifying vote counts. The mass rigging of April 27, 2024, in Oyo state undermines the integrity of elections, rendering the outcome illegitimate and disenfranchising the electorate."
He said when they thought the drama was over, it took the people in power several days to constitute the Oyo State Local Government Election Tribunal. He said, "The tribunal also announced tough procedures and criteria before aggrieved citizens, candidates and parties can be allowed to file for appeal against the sham election.
"Also, OYSIEC refused to cooperate with the aggrieved political parties and candidates by refusing to allow for the inspection of electoral materials and result sheets of the affected polling units."
According to him, despite that the state electoral umpire declared 100% victory for the ruling party, its administrative officer later claimed that the commission didn't have the requested result sheets of the election it conducted a few days earlier.
He said, "That was the height of crime against humanity and the good people of Oyo State.
"What Governor Seyi Makinde and his allies called ‘a free and fair election’ was actually a mass rigging that's far-reaching, eroding trust in institutions and destabilising the political landscape of Oyo State and Nigeria at large. It created an environment where the will of the people is disregarded, and power is seized through deceitful means.
"Voter disenfranchisement and mass rigging are insidious threats to democracy, aimed at silencing marginalized voices and manipulating the political process. These practices must be vigorously opposed and challenged. It is crucial that we work towards creating a more inclusive and transparent electoral system, where every citizen has an equal opportunity to participate and have their voice heard."
Proffering solutions to electoral challenges, he said there must be: "Automatic voter registration; Non-partisan electoral commissions; Transparent voting systems; Robust voter protections and Independent election observers."