THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has clarified the reports about one of its staff alleged of tearing a result sheet of a particular local government area during the inconclusive governorship election in Osun State on Saturday, September 22.
Olusegun Agbaje, the State’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, gave the clarification via a press statement he issued on Tuesday.
The ICIR had reported how an INEC official, Salau Kolawole, was arrested for allegedly tearing the result sheet of Ayeedade Local Government Area where the PDP had been reported to score more votes than the APC.
But Agbaje said the report was a misrepresentation of events. He explained that there was an error in the result that was earlier pasted at the polling unit, and Salawu was instructed by his superior, Aderinoye Alice, to remove the erroneous copy and paste the correct one. But a mob attacked Salawu while he was carrying out the directive and started humiliating him.
During the interrogation of Kolawole which was widely shared in the social media, the suspect did not say the result was removed because it was fraught with error, as Agbaje later explained.
Read Agbaje’s full statement below:
Gentlemen of the Press
The Commission wishes to put the record straight in respect of the issues that have gone viral on the conduct of one of our staff, Mutiu Salawu, in Ayedaade LGA on Sunday 23′ September 2018 at the St. Patrick Grammar School Gbongan around 8am after the submission of Results of the Election by the Ayedaade Local Government Collation Officer at the State Collation Centre.
The Electoral Officer for Ayedaade LGA Mrs. Aderinoye Olukemi Alice, on the information she received from the Local Government Security Chief (LGSC), that there was an error on the Form EC 60 (E) INEC PUBLICATION OF RESULT OF POLL Poster, pasted at the Local Government Collation Centre i.e St. Patrick Grammar School Gbongan, and after crosschecking the results sheet for the collation EC 8C to confirm the information, called her staff Mutiu Salawu, to remove the pasted EC 60 (E) poster with error and replace it with a correct one.
Mr. Mutiu Salawu being a dutiful staff went to carry out the lawful instruction of his boss when he was accosted by a mob that rough handled him before they took him to Adelani Rafiu Oyediran Ajanaku’s house along the New Gbongan Osogbo Road. There he was humiliated, harassed and subjected to take manipulated photographs that were sent to various social digital platforms. He was then brought to the INEC State Office where he was harassed by some section of the media.
Let me at this juncture put the record straight and inform the good people of Osun State and Nigerians, the correct position of the event:
The LGA Collation Officer Prof. Adeagbo accepted the fact that there was an error in the EC 60 (E) pasted at the LGA Collation Centre especially the figure (10,836) recorded for PDP on the poster which is different from the actual votes scored (9,836) by the PDP.
It should be noted that the INEC staff, Salawu, Mutiu Kolawole did not destroy the Result Sheet for the said election for they are intact in the custody of the Commission and copies of same are with agents of the 48 Political Parties that contested the Governorship Election.
The Commission is displeased with the conduct of a section of the press that repeatedly broadcast the event maliciously without proper investigation to know the true position of things. This attitude has misinformed the public and INEC has been misrepresented in the narrative.
Let me also clear the misconception about the number of Registered Voters in the Polling Units where we are going to have the supplementary election on Thursday, 27 September, 2018 between the hours of 8:00am and 2:00pm:
| S/N | LGA | RA | RA CODE | PU WHERE ELECTION WAS NOT HELD/ CANCELLED | NUMBER OF REG. VOTERS | REASON |
| 1. | Ife North | Oyere II | 10 | 002 Alapata Village | 353 | Number of votes was more than accredited voters |
| 2. | Ife South | Olode | 07 | 012 Adereti Village | 812 | Disruption of election by hoodlums who shot sporadically and in the process of scampering for safety the Presiding Officer misplaced the form EC8A for the PU and all efforts to get it proved abortive |
| 3. | Ife South | Osi | 08 | 010 Alutu Erin Primary School, Albert village | 502 | Manual accreditation |
| 4. | Orolu | Olufon Orolu H | 08 | 001 Kajola village | 393 | Hijacking of materials by thugs |
| 5. | Orolu | Olufon Orolu H | 08 | 004 !di lya village | 387 | Hijacking of materials by thugs |
| 6. | Orolu | Olufon Orolu I | 09 | 003 Gbogbo Primary School | 167 | Hijacking of materials by thugs |
| 7. | Osogbo | Ataoja E | 05 | 017 Adewole Street | 884 | Abscondment of the Presiding Officer |
| TOTAL REG. VOTERS | 3,498 | Registered voters in PUs where election did not hold/cancelled | ||||
On this note, I want to reassure all Stakeholders in the Osun Governorship Election that the present INEC under the leadership of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu will never jeopardize the goodwill and credibility which the Commission has attained in the conduct of elections in Nigeria. We will continue to ensure that every vote counts and access will be given to all in the process.
Thank you for your rapt attention
INEC OSUN STATE
25th SEPTEMBER, 2018