The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State has explained why its candidate, Usman Ododo, emerged victorious in the November 11 governorship election.

The ruling party attributed its resounding success to the collective determination of the good people of the state to shun ethnicity for the overall development of the state.

The APC thanked the great people of Kogi State for massively voting for its candidate, Ododo, saying the resounding victory had strengthened the social contract between the APC and the people of Kogi State.

Also, the All Progressives Congress has called on security agencies to immediately arrest the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the November 11 governorship election, Senator Dino Melaye, for cybercrime.

Fanwo lambasted the Social Democratic Party (PDP) over his undemocratic tendencies, stating that Ajaka was massively rejected in Kogi Central and West

APC’s Usman Ododo polled 446,237 votes to beat the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Muritala Yakubu-Ajaka, who came second with 259,052 votes while Dino Melaye, the PDP candidate, who got 46,362 votes came a distant third.

The Director of Media and Publicity/Spokesperson for the Kogi State Governorship Campaign Council, Kingsley Fanwo, who said this at a “Thank You Press Conference”, in Lokoja, on Tuesday, said the resounding victory of the APC had strengthened the social contract between the party and the people of Kogi State.

“It has also upscaled the onus of responsibility on us to continue to provide first class schools, health institutions, road infrastructure and many others that the current administration in the state has been doing over the past 7 years and 9 months,” he stated.

The ruling party alleged that Melaye had claimed on national TV that he had access to the back-end server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Fanwo said security agencies had no tedious job to do “on a suspect who confesses to a crime.”

“Dino Melaye has openly confessed that he hacked into the back-end of INEC. He should be arrested and prosecuted for cybercrime.

“We can’t beat a child and expect him not to cry. But we will be magnanimous in victory. Someone who claimed to have boycotted an election is here complaining about the conduct. He was not even at his Polling Unit to vote. How he got over 40,000 votes should be probed,” the party stated.

The APC also commended party members in Kogi East, where it alleged that opposition parties deployed thugs to deprive members of their franchise, adding that every vote the APC secured in Kogi East “represents hundreds of voters who were harassed, injured and even had their houses burnt for their political beliefs.”

The party also alleged that thugs loyal to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Muritala Ajaka, sealed off the homes of many APC chieftains, stopping them from voting, saying, “This is a clear crime against democracy. Our agents were attacked and their tags seized and many of them were barred from accessing collation centres.”

“Those who waged terrorism on our democracy out of desperation to make the impossible possible are today moving from one TV Station to another to cry foul and create a contrary impression when unbiased observers from far and wide have described the election as the freest and most peaceful since the creation of Kogi State.

“This is the height of desperation to distract our common attention from the heist they committed,” it said.

Fanwo said it was laughable that a candidate who claimed to have won only in his zone was crying foul and calling for the cancellation of the results of the areas where he was massively rejected.

He said: “It is akin to a poor student who scored 20% in a test to call for the cancellation of the 80% he missed to make him score 100%. It is ludicrous, pedestrian, senseless and a dubious attempt to deactivate justice and fairness.

“Our candidate and now the Governor-Elect, Alh. Ahmed Usman Ododo, won election across the three Senatorial Districts while the ethnic agenda candidate claimed to have won in his own Senatorial District alone. He didn’t win any Local Government Area in the West or Central. Ododo won all the Local Government Areas in two of the three Senatorial Districts and went ahead to win one Local Government Area in the East Senatorial District.

“He would have won more in the East but for the daylight robbery of the SDP who dangerously attacked members of the APC in the East, leading to the death of one person while many were injured.”

The party thanked the people of Kogi Central for turning out in their thousands to concretise the dominance of the APC in Kogi State, noting that “the massive turnout is no surprise as we witnessed a mammoth turnout during our Kogi Central rally. The numbers that came out to vote showed the rally crowd wasn’t a ruse.”

The APC also commended the people of Kogi West Senatorial District, saying the zone delivered six of the seven Local Government Areas in the District to the party, despite the fact that three parties fielded candidates from the zone.

“Your turnout and massive support for the APC showed your faith in a united and prosperous state where leaders are elected based on competence rather than ethnic bigotry.

“The Governor-Elect, Ahmed Usman Ododo will not disappoint you all. Governor Yahaya Bello has made it easy for the APC to continue to win elections in Kogi with his heroics in all the sectors of the economy,” it said.

The Star