Kunle Adelabu
-I was at the centre as an aspirant and l did not interfere with electoral process – Builder Daini
The agent of the Councilor representing Ward C2 in the Legislative Arm of Igbogbo/Bayeku Local Council Development Area who is seeking re – election, Hon. Wasiu Olowu, has alleged that the primary election held in Ward C2 on Saturday, May 29, 2021, was fraudulent and failed to comply with the laid down guidelines by the party, All Progressives Congress (APC).
He alleged that the Council Chairman, Builder Sesan Daini, and the police officers posted to the centre interfered in the process of the election held at the UAMC Eleja Primary School, along Asiwaju Bola Tinubu Road in Igbogbo.
The allegations were contained in a petition written to the leadership of the party and signed by one Salami Oluwaseun, the party agent for Hon Wasiu Adedayo Olowu who is demanding for the cancellation of the election results.
The petition is titled, “Fraudulent Manipulation of Ward C2 Councillorship Primary Election-The Situation Report”.
While stating that the election started at 9:45am, as against the 8:00am announced in the party guidelines, the petitioner alleged that the names of those that voted in Ward C2 were not on the list of the voters cleared for the election and that many also used fake party cards.
“The system adopted by APC was marred by malpractices in the sense that there was no Master list to confirm the authenticity of those that were officially registered by the party”, the petitioner alleged.
“I observed that those that actually voted were not on the Master list of the APC and l also discovered that the membership cards brought by some people did not actually emanated from the party list but were forged documents which were perpetrated by some fraudulent elements within the party.
He said that his protest that the process did not follow the laid down guidelines was ignored by the electoral officials also alleged that he was threatened by the aide of the council chairman.
“Immediately the voting started without an official register, I raised an alarm as an agent that I couldn’t allow voting until the register was produced.
“The electoral officials confirmed to me that all names that begin with Alphabets A-H were omitted and I, therefore, expressed my displeasure to a man who claimed to be the supervisor and the official of the elections but I was ignored and threatened by the Chief Security Officer of Igbogbo in person of Dare Igbasan, popularly known as Agali, and some touts sponsored by the council chairman, Honorable Sesan Daini”, the Agent alleged.
Salami, alleging that the Council Chairman, Builder Daini, interfered in the process, said:
“Despite my efforts to stop the process of voting without valid register as stipulated by the party guidelines which was even witnessed by Ward C2 party chairman, Alhaji Daisi Omotayo, the officials responsible for the election went ahead on the instruction of the council chairman, Builder Sesan Daini after calling them for private meeting.
“At a point, Mr Dare lgbasan, a.k.a Agali, and his team pushed me out of the voting point due to my continued insistence on the need for a valid register from the party.
He also raised allegations against the police officers at the centre that they connived with some politicians to influence the electoral process.
“Police also assisted them in perfecting the frauds by helping them to write names of those that were not qualified to vote; even the DPO witnessed the illegality committed by his officers .
“Anonymous calls later came in that I should not continue opposing the system of voting without an official register, unless I want to lose my life and my immediate family.
“After insisting that the voting should not continue, Mr Dare Igbasan and his team took away the ballot box to an unknown location”, he further alleged.
The agent, who said that he later incident the matter at the police station, called for outright cancelation of the primary election that was held at the UAMC Eleja Primary School, Igbogbo, because of what he termed fraud and illegality.
“Finally, I wish to passionately appeal to the party to outrightly cancel the election of today, on the basis of fraud and illegality”, he prayed.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA, Builder Sesan Daini, has denied all the allegations raised against him by Hon. Olowu’s agent in his petition.
The Chairman said that he was at the centre as an aspirant and worked with other aspirants to bring calmness to the centre and that he also called the DPO to assist in bringing back sanity to the center when it became rowdy.
Daini spoke with THE IMPACT on Sunday (yesterday) on the phone.
“I was at the centre like other aspirants and I ensured that I engage Hon. Wasiu Olowu and Akeem Sholawon on how to bring back sanity to the voting centre when the whole place was getting rowdy”, he said.
“It was after this that the three of us went in together to vote.
“We agreed on entry and exit arrangement for voters to control the rowdiness. We also agreed that we should call in the police so that more men would ve deployed to the centre to help with the situation.
The Chairman, who was unopposed for the Chairmanship position, told our reporter that he left the voting centre before the arrival of the DPO and his team for an interview with reporters from the TVC in his office and never returned to the voting centre.
“I learnt that the DPO later came with his team to restore peace and order to the centre because I left there, after agreeing to call in more police personnel, for an interview with the TVC in my office and did not return to the voting centre.
“It was while the TVC reporters were with me that I learnt that process at Ward C2 centre had been disrupted and that the DPO arrived to restored order and also ordered that the electoral officers, Ward C2 Chairman, Alhaji Daisi Omotayo, and others should follow him to the police station with the ballot boxes.
“I also gathered that the counting of the votes took place there because I was not with them”, he said.
The Chairman also said that Mr Dare lgbasan was in Ward C2 voting centre as a member of the Ward to exercise his voting right and not as an aide of the Council Chairman.
