Offa rerun: Protests rock Kwara over election result

Members of the All Progressives Party in Ilorin and Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State on Monday protested against the announcement on radio of the result of the rerun election held in Offa  LG on Saturday, in which the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Segun Olanipekun, was declared  the winner.  According to the radio announcement and a statement from the Deputy Director, Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission, Mr. Dauda Nurudeen, the PDP’s Olanipekun  polled 35,937 votes against 20,161 reported votes scored by the APC candidate, Mr. Saheed Popoola.

But the APC protesters insisted that from the signed result sheet obtained at the collation centre, APC defeated the PDP in 11 of the 12 wards. They stated that PDP won only in Igboodun Ward, adding that the APC scored 11,526 as against PDP’s 4,668. The Labour Party in the state had earlier stated that it viewed the rerun election as a litmus test for  the KWASIEC for the local council polls in the state in October.


The APC protesters matched from one of their offices at Offa Road Ilorin to Flower Gardens and to the KWASIEC head office at Fate/Sola Saraki Road.

 A chief of the APC, Mr. Sola Iji, who was among the protesters,  said,  “We met with the Chairman of KWASIEC, Dr. Uthman Ajidagba, who feigned ignorance. He said he didn’t know where the electoral officer was and some of his junior officers. We met with the chairman and about three or four other officers of the commission on Saturday and they promised that the result would be announced. “They said we should return Sunday morning by 10am, but surprisingly by around 5am, we started hearing from Kwara Radio, the same KWA SIEC chairman, announcing the false results.”

Nobody from KWASIEC addressed the  protesters, as the gate of the commission was padlocked.  Also, stern-looking riot police officers and a police Armoured Personnel Carrier were stationed at the KWASIEC office. Also at Offa, our correspondent learnt that numerous APC members matched around some of the streets, denouncing Olanipekun as the winners of the rerun election. They were also said to have demanded the declaration of Popoola as the rightful winner of the election.

Meanwhile, speaking on the outcome of the rerun election,   the state Governor, AbdulFatah Ahmed, congratulated  Olanipekun on Monday. In a statement  by his Chief Press Secretary, Alhaji Abdulwahab Oba, the governor admonished the opposition members  to use appropriate channels to seek redress.

 “Rather than take laws into their hands, any legitimate grievance should be channelled through established procedure for redress,” Ahmed said. Also, the National Association of Kwara State Students  protested in Ilorin on Monday. The students matched from Maraba Junction, through Murtala Muhammed Road  to the Post Office  Round About and to the Government House.

The students said they were protesting against the alleged non-payment of the balance of their bursaries.

The students had, in a letter dated August 28, appealed to the state governor, to ensure the payment of the alleged balance of their bursaries, warning that they will embark on peaceful protest on Monday if the money was not paid.