The Labour Party (LP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State of planning to rig the forthcoming local government elections in favour of its candidates.
According to the party, APC is plotting to manipulate the election process and undermine the democratic choice of the citizens.
Naija News reports that Ogun State local government elections are scheduled for November 16.
However, during its campaign on Thursday, the Labour Party urged the State Independent Electoral Commission to ensure that the electorate’s votes are accurately counted.
Addressing party members during a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Abeokuta, the state party chairman, Lookman Jagun, asserted that if the ruling party were not engaged in a well-orchestrated plan to rig the elections, Governor Dapo Abiodun would not be confidently claiming that his party would achieve a 100 percent victory in the local government elections.
Jagun said, “If I may ask, what is the APC scorecard? APC has brought nothing but hunger, misery, poverty, suffering, and tears to the people.
“With all the arable land in Ogun State, prices of basic food items have hit the roof. Garri which used to be the common man’s food, is no longer affordable. Some families can not afford to eat twice a day.
“Parents now go a whole day without eating so that their children will be able to eat at least once a day.
“The scorecard is F9! At best, it’s P8. They plan to rig the election, but we are going to resist it with the help of the impoverished and pauperized people of Ogun state”
Jagun called upon Abiodun and the OGSIEC Chairman, Babatunde Osibodu, to etch their names in history by ensuring that the voice of the populace is upheld in the upcoming local government elections.
He noted that, among the party’s 20 candidates for chairmanship, six had opted out of the contest due to apprehensions regarding the ruling government’s commitment to a fair electoral process.
Jagun confirmed that 14 chairmanship candidates and 106 candidates for councilorship from the party will actively participate in the local government elections.
He encouraged the citizens of the state to reject poverty, hunger, and the repercussions of the ruling party’s mismanagement by casting their votes for the Labour Party in the local government elections.
Jagun emphasized that the party is poised to introduce a new approach to governance at the local level.
He stated that the party’s campaign focuses on driving infrastructural development, initiating an agricultural revolution, ensuring access to primary healthcare, and promoting transparency and accountability within local governance.
In response, Tunde Oladunjoye, the state publicity secretary of the APC, dismissed the opposition’s claims as utterly ridiculous and unfounded.
Oladunjoye said, “Laughable comment. Cowards die many times before their deaths. Let the pretenders in the Labour Party mention their scorecard, if any, that can go to test with APC’s.”