Agbaje Alleges Plot to Manipulate Lagos Election Results

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to release all results immediately, saying attempts are on to manipulate the results.

Agbaje, at a Press Conference in his campaign office on Monday wondered why 48 hours after polls ended, the commission still failed to release all results.

"As I speak today, we have a situation where results are being delayed. It is two days now and results are not being released in Lagos State. And they are not being released in areas where we, PDP, have strength. And that is deliberate. We have a situation where results are being tampered with. That is not going to be acceptable to us. We will not accept results that have been tampered with in Lagos State."

According to the Member of the House of Representatives for Oshodi-Isolo 1 Federal Constituency, Honourable Mutiu Shadimu, who was at the press briefing, voters in his constituency were intimidated last Saturday by hoodlums led by the Treasurer of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Musiliu Akinsanya, aka MC Oluomo.

The same gang had also prevented traders from opening their shops on Monday.

According to Agbaje, INEC officials' delay in releasing voting figures was unpalatable and was an extension of the faulty conduct of elections in several polling areas throughout Lagos.

According to him, "The problems started from the polling units. The guidelines were very clear, that after election and counting of votes, election results are supposed to be pasted on the wall at the polling unit. We have no reports that election results were pasted anywhere in Lagos State. That was the beginning of the problem.

"At the collation centres, we had a lot of intimidation of our agents. The ruling party had a multiplicity of party agents representing it. We had a situation where officails of the Lagos State government showed up and were represented in their numbers against the lone voices of our agents. We had a situation where our collation agents were arrested, leaving us unrepresented at the collation stage. That again is not acceptable us.

"We go back to the election day, where in a lot of cases, we had a situation where the card readers did not function, including my own voting unit. It created a situation where the electoral agents were unable to verify the identity of voters vis-a-vis the PVCs presented.

"Now we are calling on security agents to bring to book those who caused the mayhem in Okota, Coker Aguda and several other places in Lagos State. And that is very important. If we are going to talk about democracy, then we have to practise the culture. It means that everybody will play his part. Voters will come and vote and we have assured them that their votes count."