The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State has rejected Thursday’s rulings of the Local Government Election Petition Tribunals on the petitions filed in respect of the 21 September 2024 local government election in the Ilorin South, Patigi, and Offa local government council areas.
In a statement by the party and its candidates in the elections, the PDP said that the elections were compromised and failed to meet the moral and legal standards expected of a free, fair, and credible democratic process, adding that the verdict would be appealed in court.
It will be recalled that the party’s chairmanship candidate in Ilorin South, Muhammed Ayodeji Ismail, aka Maigida, and his councilorship candidates had filed separate petitions challenging the outcome of the said elections before an Election Petition Tribunal.
Reacting to Thursday’s ruling by the tribunal, Hon. Mohammed said that he was disappointed with the turn of events, given the admittance by both the APC candidates’ legal counsel and the facts at the PDP’s disposal.
“We have copies of the election results as announced by the KWASIEC officials, indicating that we won eight of the nine wards where the said elections were held in Ilorin South, while the APC candidate won just one, since elections were not held in the remaining two wards.
“Even the candidate and his legal counsel admitted the fact that I won. Certainly, the judgement did not reflect the reality of what happened on 24 September 2025,” he said.
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Also, a statement signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Adewara, expressed disappointment with the Tribunal’s verdict, stating that the elections were marred by the deliberate disenfranchisement of over 85 per cent of voters in all 16 local government areas.
“In the few areas where elections were held, PDP candidates secured overwhelming votes that were sorted, counted, and announced by respective electoral officials.
“However, original election results were discarded, while the state’s electoral umpire (KWASIEC) criminally manufactured another at the Government House and imposed it on the people to favour candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),” he said.
“While we hold the judiciary in high esteem and will continue to respect judicial pronouncements, we strongly disagree with the Tribunal’s rulings on Ilorin South, Patigi, and Offa. We presented credible, incontrovertible evidence that clearly demonstrated the electoral fraud perpetrated by the Abdulrahman-led APC administration in connivance with KWASIEC. It is deeply troubling that these compelling facts were disregarded on mere technicalities,” he lamented.
He, however, urged PDP loyalists across the board to remain calm and steadfast, describing the ruling as “a temporary setback,” assuring them that “those who sit on stolen mandates will continue to be challenged, not only by our party but even by their own consciences,” he said.
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