HOW AGAGU RIGGED GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION - WITNESS

Olusegun Agagu

More startling revelations continued to be unfolded at the Ondo State Election petition Tribunal in the petition filed by Dr Olusegun Mimiko of the Labour Party (LP), praying that he be returned as the duly elected Governor of the State in the April 14, 2007 gubernatorial election as an expert witness, Mr. Ogundeji Iroju told the tribunal how the political office holders who served under Dr Olusegun Agagu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in flagrance abuse of the Electoral Acts 2006 signed election results in favour of their boss.

According to him, Commissioners, Local Government Chairmen, aides of Dr Agagu and those of his
Commissioners, the PDP Chairman in the South Senatorial District of the State and indeed serving
Police Officers Signed Election Results Sheet in favour of the embattled governor.

Some of the names contained in Iroju’s Expert Witness Statement which he deposed to and which was taken as read by the Tribunal include: Mr. Ayo Ifayefunmi, the Commissioner for Agriculture as at the time of the Election on April 14 last year, Mr. Yemi Alao, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Tola Akintemi, PDP Chairman, (South) Dr Francis Igbasan, Chairman of the Ondo State Scholarship Board, Barrister Benson Enikuomehin, Special Assistant to Dr Agagu, Niyi Alonge, Chairman of  Ose local government council, Agboola Ajayi, Former Chairman of Ese-Odo local government ( He is now in the House of Representatives representing Ilaje/ Ese-Odo Federal Constituency), Mr. Christopher Oloyede as Assistant Superintendent of Police who signed form EC8B with Serial Number 0004628 as PDP Agent in Mahin Ward 4 in Ilaje local government, Yemi Tademo who signed several result sheets in Irele local government in an election in which he is contesting as a member of the State House of Assembly.

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Others include Tayo Sipasi, Speciola Adviser to Chairman of Ese Odo local government, Prince Oluwole Ogunlade Toyin, Special Assistant to the Finance Commissioner who signed results of 4 Wards in Akure North local government namely Ayede/Ogbese, Ayetoro, Eleyowo/Iluabo, and  Moferere, R.A Akintemi, Supervisor for Health, Odigbo local Government, who also signed results in three Wards namely: Ago Alaye, Araromi Obu, and Ayesan wards among others.

Section 46(1) of the Electoral Act 2006 states that:“Provided that no person currently serving as Chairman or member of a Local Government or Area Council, Commissioner of a State, Deputy Governor, or Governor of a State, Minister or any other person holding political office under any tier of Government and who has not resigned his appointment at least three (3) months before the election shall serve as agent of any political party, either at the Polling Station or at any centre designated for collation 0of result of an election.”

Also, the witness disclosed that thousands of ballot papers with their counterfoils still intact were thumb-printed for Agagu and dumped into ballot boxes; a development which he noted was an abuse of the electoral laws.

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Specifically, Iroju and Cyril Egunlayi, an ICT expert, revealed that contrary to Section 75 of the Electoral Act, thousands of Ballot papers with neither Polling Officers’ stamps nor signatures were counted in favour of Dr Agagu in all the disputed areas while in the same vein there were massive over voting for Dr Agagu in hundreds of Polling Units in the areas being disputed by Dr Mimiko

Aside, the tribunal was told how tens of thousand of Ballot Papers stamped with the stamps of the defunct National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON) were used to stamp ballot papers thump printed and dumped into the ballot boxes all in favour of Agagu. The tribunal also heard how hundred of units had multiple Presiding Officers’ signing the election results as against one Presiding Officer per units recognized by law. It was also revealed to the court how in Okitipupa local Government, where Agagu hails from, ballot papers were lumped together on a Ward by Ward basis as against the Unit by Unit basis sanctioned by the Electoral law. This, according to the experts was said to have been done to create confusion and cover up the PDP track in their bid to rig.