INEC Must Protect Materials Used For Ekiti Election—Adeyeye

The Prince Adedayo Adeyeye Movement (PAAM) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to safeguard all materials used during the June 21 governorship election in Ekiti State.

PAAM, which accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of desperately plotting to rubbish the election results by replacing the used ballot papers with those already printed in China, said; "the Ekiti election has restored INEC credibility and the electoral commission must guard jealously, all materials used for the election."

In a release issued by its Director General, Hon Bisi Kolawole, PAAM described manipulation of used electoral materials as APC stock-in-trade, saying; the party did the same in 2011.

"The APC people are already boasting of getting the election results voided and their confidence is as a result of nothing other than the assurance that election materials in INEC custody will be tampered with.

'This is moreso that the APC people are not new to what is known as 'ibo lehin ibo' (voting after voting), as they did in 2011 when they paid four staff of INEC to doctor materials used in Ekiti East Constituency 2 House of Assembly election in 2011.

"The four INEC staff, Ajayi Gbenga, Ojo Oluwafemi, Oni Babajide and Olusola Oladapo were arrested and subsequently arraigned in an Ado Ekiti Magistrate Court on eight count charge of alleged tampering with electoral materials used for the House of Assembly election in April.

'The prime suspect, Olusola Oladapo, an INEC Electoral Officer (EO) collected N180,000 from the ACN candidate in the election. He allegedly gave N50, 000 each to Ajayi Gbenga and Oni Babajide while Ojo Oluwafemi got N30,000.

"Therefore, if we are getting information that APC leaders have perfected plot to replace ballot papers in INEC custody with fresh ones, using unscrupulous INEC officials, we cannot not keep silent because it happened before and it must not be allowed to happen again," Kolawole said.