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.. ‘Oyetola didn’t lose the election,’ Gov’s aide insists
Blessing Akorowosi, Osogbo
An Election Monitoring Group, Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement, YIAGA Africa has stated that it stands by its position on the outcome of the 2022 Osun Governorship election.
This is as it dissociated itself from the report and publications alluding that its Election Result Analysis Dashboard (ERAD) statement insinuates the All Progressives Congress candidate, Adegboyega Oyetola won the election.
In a release on Friday, the Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo stated that the ERAD report did not suggest the winner or loser of the recently concluded June/July, Ekiti and Osun Governorship elections.
Itodo noted that the ERAD report highlighted some shortcomings of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) upload of results to the INEC Results Viewing (IREV) Portal and recommendations for improving the process ahead of the 2023 elections.
He said, “Yiaga Africa’s deployed a comprehensive election observation methodology in Ekiti and Osun Governorship elections. First, Yiaga Africa observed the pre-election period and deployed citizen observers on election day using the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) to provide timely information on the process and verify election results.
“The ERAD report corroborates the PVT findings contained in the report on the Ekiti and Osun Governorship elections released on August 27th, 2022 which clearly revealed that the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the Ekiti and Osun election were CONSISTENT with votes cast at the polling units.
“We wish to state unequivocally the ERAD report which has been publicly released does not contradict our PVT findings in any way. While Political parties have the right to reference our reports, they must do so with a high sense of responsibility. Copies of our report on the Ekiti and Osun elections can be downloaded from the organisation’s website; www.yiaga.org.
“Yiaga Africa restates its commitment to sharing accurate data and information on the conduct of elections and results based on its election observation methodology.”
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Oyetola, Ismail Omipidan has however reacted to the purported twist claims.
Omipidan said all he did was to analyse the outcome of the July 16 election as presented by the group on Thursday, September 9, 2022 and not twisting facts.
He also urged the organisation not to allow itself to be misled by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Osun, whose stock in trade are lies and propaganda.
Omipidan wondered which report YIAGA read to have drawn the kind of conclusion it drew on his person and personality, arguing that what he did in his article was simply to place the report of YIAGA side-by-side Oyetola’s petition before the Tribunal, subject both to critical analysis and make his deductions therefrom.
He asked further, “Did YIAGA report not state that ‘an analysis of the number of registered voters and the PVC collected by polling units revealed some inconsistencies in the data”? Did YIAGA not assert that “findings from the analysis on the Osun PVC collection data revealed that the total number of PVCs collected for 30 polling units was greater than the total number of registered voters in those polling units”? Did it not state that these inconsistencies were recorded in 12 LGAs?
“Did YIAGA report not state that ‘based on results entered on the ERAD database, there was a variation in the total number of rejected ballots, and the figures announced by INEC at the final
collation”? Did it not say that “For instance in Osun, the total rejected ballots as compiled from the polling units by the ERAD is 21,886, while the total number of rejected ballots
as announced at the INEC’s state
collation in Osun state is 18,674′?
“Based on my analysis, I reinstated my earlier assertion that my Principal, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, only lost the vote count and not the election. So, show me the facts I have twisted here? I want to appeal to the respected CSO and its leadership not to allow the Osun PDP , whose stock in trade are lies and propaganda to mislead them,” Omipidan added.
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