Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity and Inclusivity at Osun INEC office, Adewale Francis, said the over-voting statement credited to Agboke was incorrect and mischievous.
By Jeffrey Agbo
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Osun State office, has debunked reports that its Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mutiu Agboke, said there was over-voting during the July 16, 2022 governorship election in the state.
Recently, an Election Petition Tribunal led by Justice Terste Kume nullified the election of Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the basis of over-voting in 10 of the 30 local government areas of the state.
The tribunal declared that Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was the actual winner of the election.
However, on Tuesday, the REC in Osun visited the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba AbdulRasheed Akanbi, and was quoted by some media outfits as saying that the BVAS machines were used or manipulated by some INEC staff and politicians for over-voting during the governorship election in Osun.
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Commenting on the reports, Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity and Inclusivity at Osun INEC office, Adewale Francis, said 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 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,’’ he stated.
