The Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party in Kogi State, Natasha Akpoti, has called for the cancellation of the elections in Kogi Central and parts of Lokoja, the state capital.
Akpoti wants the Independent National Electoral Commission to cancel the elections in the areas and hold a rerun on the grounds that “what happened in Kogi Central and other parts of the state was a far cry from a credible election”.
“Ballot boxes were destroyed and burnt in Okene, Adavi, Ajaokuta and Ogori Magongo and Okehi Local government areas and other parts of the state,” she said in the statement on Sunday.
“Our agents were chased away from the various polling units of the Kogi Central Senatorial District.”
For Akpoti, these incidents were enough to make INEC take drastic action.
“I am therefore calling on you and in line with your powers as enshrined in the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended to cancel the election in Kogi Central Senatorial District and some part of Lokoja and order for a rerun,” she said.
Saturday’s election had been marked by reports of violence, thuggery, harassment and intimidation with INEC condemning those incidents.
The electoral umpire had, however, said in a statement on Saturday that most of those who wanted to vote got to do so.
For Akpoti and her party’s agents and supporters, it was a different story, according to her statement.
“In some polling units, our agents were tied with ropes by APC-led thugs,” she said.
She also alleged that gun-wielding thugs supporting the APC did not allow SDP agents in Okene to come near the polling units. These thugs, she added, told voters not to come and vote unless they were to vote only APC.
