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Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, the Deputy Senate President and the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate for governor of Delta State, has pledged to contest Sheriff Oborevwori's election victory, calling it "fraudulent, damning, and daring for it to be acceptable in any civilized society."
Recall that following the governorship election on March 18, Sheriff Oborevwori was named the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, also known as INEC, on Monday, March 20. Professor Georgewill Abraham, the state's returning officer, said that PDP's Oborevwori received 360,234 votes, followed by Omo-Agege of the APC with 240,229, and Ken Pela of the LP with 48,047.
In a statement released by Sunny Areh, his chief press secretary, Omo-Agege responded to the announcement by INEC by saying that it was made despite the numerous violations and acts of impunity committed by PDP throughout the election. He stated that "incontrovertible proof" was used to alert INEC to the violations. According to Omo-Agege, the PDP engaged in unprecedented vote buying, widespread election fraud, and voter suppression.
"The majority of those violations are known to INEC officials and the security organizations tasked with overseeing the election because they are in the public domain. The results of the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25 indicated a clear rejection of the PDP. APC won two of the state's three senatorial districts, while PDP narrowly defeated the Labour Party in the Delta North Senate contest. It was an unvarnished assessment of Deltans' performance during the state's 24 years of PDP rule.
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, the APC's candidate for governor in Delta State, and the party's leadership categorically reject INEC's declaration that Sheriff Oborevwori of the PDP won the March 18 governorship election on the basis of the factors mentioned above and additional ones that will emerge later. We will use every available legal tool to contest this bogus result. Omo-Agege, a Democrat and the Deputy President of the Senate, promised to use all legal means at his disposal to retake the mandate freely granted to him by the good people of Delta State."
Assuring them that the PDP's "pyrrhic celebration of a stolen mandate will be short-lived," and that he will be sworn in as governor on May 29, he asked his supporters and APC loyalists to be calm.
