By Timeswatch
A very dangerous aftermath has ensued in Ward A, Oki/Alaguntan of Oki Kingdom, Agbado-Oke Odo Local Council Development Area, Alimosho LGA, Lagos state, as members of the Accord Party engaged in a free for all with supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Sunday afternoon (today).
The fiasco began as aggrieved Accord Party members in Solidarity with their Councillorship Candidate in the just concluded election, Hon.Banjoko Olalekan, took to the streets to protest what they called a deliberate withholding of the result for Ward A, Oki/Alaguntan by LASIEC for ulterior motives.
Brandishing placards with inscriptions such as, ” DELAY OF WARD A RESULT BY LASIEC SUSPICIOUS AND UNACCEPTABLE”; “LASIEC RELEASE WARD A RESULT NOW”; “LASIEC RELEASE WARD A RESULT UNINFLUENCED”, etc.
The leader of the Accord Party protesters, Omobolaji Abiodun, cried to newsmen that the LASIEC must be up to some evil which must not be allowed.
According to him, the polling unit agents of Accord Party caught many APC marauders who were manipulating things and seized their materials which have been kept as evidence.
Omobolaji also noted that some powerful forces in the APC made the police to arrest and detain Accord members who peacefully and legitimately stayed into the night to monitor proceedings.
Eye witnesses told Timeswatch that tantrums and direct confrontations from APC supporters as the Accord Party protesters moved peacefully led to the fights.
Photographs from the scene also revealed that the APC loyalists mobbed and stripped an Accord Party member.
When Timeswatch quizzed Hon.Banjoko who ran to the palace of the traditional ruler of Oki to report the ugly development, he noted that the bad blood was generated by the inexplicable and provocative refusal of LASIEC to release an obvious result.
Speaking he said, ” As the polls went on yesterday, Accord Party agents were on ground like their counterparts from other parties.
“And when it was time for public counting or collation of results, the Accord Party shot into a beautiful lead with a clear margin of over 600 votes above the APC which trailed with just over 400 votes.
” A sudden abracadabra however started with the realisation of this manifest lead. And the LASIEC Polling Officers, certainly influenced by what they alone must tell the world, said they cannot announce Ward A result because the collated result from a unit was not stamped.
“Flabbergasted, the Accord Party members queried such dereliction, carelessness and negligence by their officer, and got no meaningful answer.
” Further dazed and excited, they demanded that the errant LASIEC officer be summoned to come sign the document due to exigency, but LASIEC refused to yield, situation which made the Accord people suspect bias.
“Finally, they suggested that the score or result of Accord Party from that unit be subtracted, that even after doing that, Accord will still lead the trailing APC with over 40 votes.
” Rather than do any of these, the LASIEC went away without announcing a ward that should have been announced first, situation which heightened suspicion of the massive supporters of Accord Party in Oki land”, Banjoko lamented.
According to him, hours from that saga, LASIEC has held unto that result, a situation that sparked agitations and unnecessary rancour.
The Baale of Oki kingdom, High Chief Badeyemo Oki, in reacting to the development said he remains neutral in the unfolding drama, but has alerted the police who responded immediately to forestall a breakdown of law and order. He also urged the appropriate authorities to do what is right in protection of democracy.
Arc.Olusoji Samuel, the CDA chairman of the area and Chief Olatunde Tajudeen, Akinrogun of Oki land also spoke in the same vein as the Baale, warning against violence and advising the LASIEC to respect democracy by doing just the right thing.
