By: Hakeem Gbadamosi – Akure
As Nigerians prepare to go to the polls on Saturday to elect a new President and members of the Senate and House of Representatives, the Labour Party (LP) in Ondo State has raised the alarm over the omission of the party’s logo in the Senatorial and House of Representatives’ ballot papers.
The party, however, called for the postponement of the elections of the National Assembly elections in the affected areas or correct the anomaly before the elections.
The State Secretary of the party in the state, Abiodun Agbaje, while addressing journalists in the state disclosed that the party discovered that the party’s name and logo is missing on the ballot papers.
He said seven House of Representatives candidates and one senatorial candidate in the state are discovered during inspection saying this is unacceptable and a wicked way of disenfranchising Ondo electorates.
Agbaje listed the affected areas include; Ondo central senatorial district, Akoko North West/North East, Akoko Southwest/SouthEast, Akure North/South, Okitipupa/Irele, Ilaje/Ese-Odo and Ondo East/West.
The House of Representatives candidate for Akoko South East/South West, Stephen Adeyeri, who described the omission of the party’s name and logo from the ballot as a
deliberate, malicious and intentional to disenfranchise the electorates in the affected areas.
Adeyeri said “This is unacceptable and we believe INEC can rectify this in order not to disenfranchise our supporters from exercising their civic rights which is unacceptable.
He advised that the election in those affected areas should be postponed by INEC until needful is done and said “if INEC fails to do the needful, the party will take legal action on the issues.
“We are surprised when our representatives went to the INEC office yesterday and even today for the sorting of the electoral materials and discovered that the logo of our party was consciously missing on the ballot paper.
“We are urging the INEC to do the needful, to either give us the opportunity to participate in the election tomorrow or postpone the election
“Whatever way they want to do, we believe that since the court has ordered that our candidates should be given an opportunity to perform their rights.
“Our supporters and members would be disturbed if they get to the poll tomorrow and find out that the Labour Party is missing on the ballot paper.
“We express our displeasure over the issues and we believe that the INEC is a responsible body that will do the needful and ensure that we are able to participate in tomorrow’s election.”
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