Hon. Folarin Oria, the Senatorial candidate of the Labour Party in Ondo Central Senatorial district, has called for the cancellation of the poll, alleging that the logo of the party was not on the ballots used for the election. This, he claims, has led to the alleged disenfranchisement of his supporters.
In a statement, Hon. Oria expressed his disappointment over the development and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to nullify the election and conduct a fresh poll in the senatorial district. He questioned whether the omission of the party's logo was a deliberate act to disenfranchise his supporters and cited a court judgement on the 2nd of February, which had ordered INEC to include Labour Party candidates.
He went on to state that the omission of the logo caused distress to their supporters and led to voter apathy among most of their followers. As a result, Hon. Oria called for the rescheduling of the election to accommodate his party for fairness, equity, and justice.
The state chapter of the Labour Party had earlier cried out over the omission of its logo on the ballots used for the Saturday election. The state secretary, Mr. Agbaje Abiodun, demanded that INEC should postpone the senatorial and House of Representatives elections until another date or "do the needful".
Hon. Oria called on INEC to investigate the matter, as it has the mandate to run a free, fair, credible, and inclusive poll. The primary election for the Ondo Central Senatorial district and the House of Representatives in Akure's south and north federal constituency were held on June 3rd, 2022, in line with the electoral act, and were subsequently won by Hon. Folarin Oria and Hon. Elesaodo Olayemi Ruth, respectively.