From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
Candidates of All Progressives Congress(APC) in Ekiti have been declared winners of the recently conducted local government election in the state.
The APC cleared all the 35 chairmanship positions and 176 out of the 177 councillorship seats in the 16 local government areas and 19 local council development areas (LCDAs) as well as the 177 wards in the state.
But the main opposition party, PDP has condemned the outcome of the election, saying in reality, APC cannot win any free and fair election.
Six political parties participated in the poll, as the PDP had boycotted the election, claiming the ruling APC was incapable of conducting any free and fair election, devoid of violence.
The six political parties are: Action Alliance, African Democratic Congress, All Progressives Grand Alliance, APC, National Rescue Movement, and Young Progressives Party.
Chairman of the state Independent Electoral Commission, Justice Jide Aladejana, who declared the results, yesterday, said candidates of the APC won all the 35 chairmanship positions and 176 out of the 177 councillor-ship seats.
Aladejana said councillor-ship election in Erinjiyan ward has been postponed due to alleged violence that broke out during the poll.
He appreciated the security agencies and the staff of the commission as well as the Ekiti electorate for participating in the poll and cooperate for the successful conduct of the elections.
PDP Publicity Secretary, Raphael Adeyanju, in a statement, claimed the results of the election and the obvious low turnout of voters have confirmed the opposition’s fear that the result had been predetermined by APC.
He also described the conduct of election in the newly created LCDAs as unconstitutional, claiming since the constitution of Nigeria recognises only 16 local government areas in Ekiti State, election in the 19 LCDAs was an aberration and a waste of resources.