PDP defeats APC in Oyo by-election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday declared the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Debo Ogundoyin, as the winner of Ibarapa East State Constituency byelection in Oyo state. Announcing the result, the returning officer, Ayodeji Omole of the University of Ibadan, said Mr Ogundoyin polled 6,277 votes to defeat Mr Olukunle Adeyemo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who came second with 4,619 votes. Mr Omole said Adebodun Adepoju of Accord Party scored 2,859 votes while Rasheedat Oyewumi of Fresh Democratic Party garnered 33 votes. Others were Adekemi Raheem of Hope Democratic Party, 14 votes; Grace Olarinde of Nigerian People’s Congress, 60 votes; and Matins Adeyemo of Mega Party of Nigeria, 9 votes. He stated that 14,332 voters were accredited and voted out of the 44,077 registered. “Total votes cast are 14,179 while valid votes are 13,871 and 308 votes were rejected,’’ he said. He declared Mr Ogundoyin as the winner, “having scored the highest votes as stipulated in the electoral law.” The by-election that was held in 140 polling units in all of the10 wards across the constituency was necessitated by the death of Michael Adeyemo, the occupant of the seat in the State House of Assembly, on April 27. Adedeji Soyebi, the National Electoral Commissioner for Oyo, Osun and Ekiti, said the election was successful. He commended the people of the constituency for conducting themselves peacefully. “We had little issue with card readers unlike previous elections because we used enhanced smart card readers now,” Mr Soyebi said. He also commended security personnel deployed to the area for their efforts in ensuring a peaceful and violence-free exercise. A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who monitored the election in Eruwa and Lanlate, reports that there was heavy presence of security operatives led by Mr Abiodun Odude, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police.