The aftermath of Kwara State’s Local Government elections, held on Saturday, has led to a sharp divide between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Both parties are at odds over the election results, which were announced by the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC).
On Sunday morning, KWASIEC’s chairman, Mohammed Baba-Okanla, released an official statement declaring the APC as the winner in both chairmanship and councillorship positions across the state’s 16 Local Government Areas and 193 wards.
While the APC celebrated this victory, PDP supporters reacted with a protest outside the KWASIEC office in Ilorin, the state capital.
Demonstrators carried placards accusing the commission of rigging the results in favor of the APC and calling for the actual results to be declared.
The protest was led by Saratu Adebayo, a former state commissioner, who claimed the PDP had legitimately won the chairmanship elections in all 16 Local Government Areas.
She called on KWASIEC to announce the true results, reflecting the people’s votes.
In contrast, the APC expressed gratitude to the electorate for their support.
The party, through a statement by its chairman, Sunday Fagbemi, commended the peaceful conduct of the elections and the performance of KWASIEC, dismissing allegations of partiality.
The APC also criticized the PDP for attempting to disrupt the election process in certain areas, including Offa.
Despite these claims, the election remains a point of contention, with the PDP demanding that the electoral body review and correct the results.
