BY SONI DANIEL & DAYO JOHNSON

AKURE—National leadership of Labour Party, LP, and opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ondo State yesterday sang discordant tunes over the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declaration of last weekend’s by-election in Ilaje/Ese Odo Federal Constituency election as inconclusive.

This came as the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, accused the Labour Party-led administration in the state of messing up the election vote.

While National Chairman of LP, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu called on INEC to declare the LP candidate, Kolade Akinjo as winner of the election without further delay, State chairman of the PDP, Ebenezer Alabi, justified INEC’s declaration of the election inconclusive.

According to Nwanyanwu, INEC had no genuine reason under the law for its refusal to declare the LP candidate winner, because according to the INEC records; the candidate scored the highest number of valid votes in the election.

He said: “The Leadership of the Labour Party, having received reports of the election into the Ilaje/Ese-odo Federal Constituency seat which held on the 5th of April 2014, notes with concern that despite the fact that the Labour Party’s candidate, Kolade Akinjo scored majority of lawful votes that is, 23,926 as against the PDP lawful votes of 22,628 and APC lawful votes of 9,232 was not declared and returned as the winner of the election.

“There were returns of the outcome of the election in all the 12 Wards in Ilaje local government and 9 out of the 10 Wards in Ese-Odo local government. The net result is that election took place in 21 out 22 Wards that made up the Ilaje-Ese/Odo Federal Constituency.”

Nwanyanwu  added that; “it is  instructive that prior to the election last Saturday,   no indication was given of any notice of postponement of the election for reasons of natural disaster or emergency declaring therefore that this makes the provision  of section 26 (1) , (2) (3) (4) and (5) of the Electoral Act 2010 irrelevant.

But Alabi at a briefing in Akure blamed the State Government for the crisis in Arogbo ward 2 where election did not hold, five units in Ogogoro community in mahin ward 2, legha unit and Piawe unit and Ugbo section.

He claimed that the state government was planning to approach the Court to seek a declarative order to compel INEC to declare its candidate as winner of the election.

Alabi who described the exercise as an abuse, said only Electoral Petition Tribunal could adjudicate on the electoral matters.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kuku, who addressed the media in Abuja yesterday, on his return from Ondo, where he participated in the election, claimed the LP supporters connived with ex-militant youths to disrupt the distribution of election materials in places considered to be PDP stronghold to give the ruling party an edge.

Kuku alleged that one of the youths, who had the backing of the ruling LP in the state, even openly seized marked ballot papers and jumped into the creek, thereby stalling the election in Arogbo 2 and other places where the PDP was poised to win overwhelmingly.