Jubilation as ACN sweeps polls in Ogun

Supporters and party members of the Action Congress of Nigeria on Sunday went into jubilation as the party won the National Assembly election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The supporters of the party, who trooped out as early as 6am, were chanting a song: O ya yo Igbale re; a ti le power lo. Lailai power ko ni gberi mo; ati le won wo le meaning: Now come out with your brooms, we have swept off power (PDP slogan). Never will power rise again, we have swept them off completely.” The party supporters had gathered at the Centenary Hall at Ake, Abeokuta, venue of the collation and announcement of the National Assembly Election results for the Ogun Central Senatorial District to monitor the results. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, and the daughter of Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Senator Iyabo-Obasanjo-Bello, according to the results announced by INEC, lost their re-election bids. The Returning Officer of INEC for the Abeokuta South Federal Constituency, Dr. Olanrewaju Banjo, who declared the results, announced that Bankole scored 23, 103 against Mr. Williams Olusegun of ACN, who polled a total votes of 28, 490. A candidate of the Peoples Party of Nigeria, where the state governor’s Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s PDP faction defected to, Mr. Afolabi Ogundimu, scored 3, 924 votes. Bankole in his reaction shortly after the announcement of the results, described the outcome as the wish of the people. “The outcome of the 2011 National Assembly election conducted on the whole reflected the wishes of the people in our national quest to enshrine an enduring democracy for our nation,” he stated. He commended the general peaceful nature of the election, particularly in Ogun State and thanked the electorate for trooping out en mass to vote for candidates of their choices as representatives and senators at the National Assembly. Bankole in a statement signed by his Media Assistant on Communications, Mr. Kayode Odunaro, described the voters’ turnout most especially after the initial hiccups in the exercise, as a demonstration of the people’s abiding faith in democracy as an acceptable and veritable path for the development of Nigeria. Bankole congratulated all the winners in the parliamentary elections for their victory and advised losers to accept their losses in good faith. “For me, the race was not a life and death duel. Of more importance is building, maintaining and developing our democratic institution and processes as a means towards true national development and greatness,” he stated. For the Ogun Central Senatorial District election, Mr. Onaolapo Obadara, of the ACN polled a total of 102, 389 votes to defeat the former President’s daughter, who scored 56, 312 votes while Ijadunoye Boyode of the PPN scored 27, 183 votes. By Francis Falola, Sesan Olufowobi, Abeokuta Courtesy Of: Punch