The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Osun State branch office has dismissed the media reports that its Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC),Dr Mutiu Agboke, said there was over-voting during the July 16, 2022 governorship election in the state.
Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity and Inclusivity for the state,Mr Adewale Francis,made the refutal in a statement released on Thursday in Osogbo.
According to him,the over-voting statement credited to Agboke was incorrect and mischievous.
“The attention of the Osun State office of INEC has been drawn to media reports that the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Mutiu Agboke, purportedly said that there was over-voting during the election,”the statement reads
“The report is incorrect and mischievous.
“The REC only explained the efficacy of the Biomodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) as a device for the accreditation of voters when he visited the Oluwo of Iwo,Oba AbdulRasheed Akanbi.
“Any extrapolation to the contrary is outside the context of the statement and should be disregarded.
“We implore the media to always verify their source of information before publication.”
Dr Agboke was at the palace of Oluwo of Iwo, AbdulRasheed Adewale Akanbi in Iwo on Tuesday where he explained the workings of the BVAS machines.
He was,however,quoted by some media outfits as saying the BVAS machines were used or manipulated by some INEC staff and politicians to commit over-voting during the governorship election in Osun.
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An election Petition Tribunal led by Justice Terste Kume,nullified the election of Gov. Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Jan. 27 on the basis of over-voting in 10 of the 30 local government areas of the state during the election.
It declared that Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was the actual winner of the election.