Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has rejected any plan to move the collation of local government results from their designated centres to Osogbo, the state capital, warning that such a move could create an avenue for the manipulation of results from Saturday’s governorship election.
Adeleke spoke shortly after casting his vote at his polling unit in Ede, where he urged voters to remain vigilant throughout the collation process and ensure that results recorded at polling units are preserved and accurately transmitted through each stage of collation.
The governor also alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC), which he claimed was trailing in the election, had prepared fake results for some local government areas and was seeking to substitute them for the authentic figures recorded at polling units.
“We have it on good authority that Osun APC has written fake results for some local governments. The APC is looking for ways to swap the fake results with the original results.
“Their plan is to move some local government collation centres to the state capital so that they can swap the results. We will resist such moves.
“All collation must be done at each local government. Under no circumstances should the local government collation be taken to the state capital.
“I am winning this election with wide margins. I have God and the people,” Adeleke told supporters at his polling unit.
Focus on Results Collation
Adeleke’s warning came as voting continued across Osun State, with voters turning out to elect the governor for another four-year term.
The election is being closely contested, with Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking re-election against the APC and candidates of other political parties.
As voting and counting give way to the collation of results, the process at the local government level is expected to come under close scrutiny, particularly regarding the handling, verification and transmission of figures recorded at polling units.
Adeleke maintained that the credibility of the election would depend not only on the conduct of voting but also on the integrity of the subsequent collation process.
He therefore called on voters, party agents and supporters to remain alert and protect their votes until the final results are declared.
The governor also expressed confidence in his chances of securing another term, saying he had the support of “God and the people.”