Startling details have emerged in the ongoing election petition tribunal in Abeokuta, exposing a shocking election rigging scheme allegedly orchestrated by Dapo Abiodun’s Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tokunbo Talabi. The controversy revolves around the printing of INEC ballot papers by Talabi’s company, Superflux Printing.
According to sources, while executing the original contract for INEC, Talabi reportedly clandestinely printed additional ballot papers, which were later used to rig the Governorship elections in Ogun State.
Disturbing discrepancies have been revealed, including multiple ballot papers with identical serial numbers and others with serial numbers that differ from those officially deployed in Ogun State during the elections. This irregularity contributed to instances of over-voting in numerous polling units.
Allegedly, Dapo Abiodun himself approached certain INEC officers, including the returning officer from the University of Ibadan, to ensure his victory at any cost and purportedly promised to handle any legal challenges. These officers then allegedly inserted the extra ballot papers printed by Superflux into the voting process, as evidence reportedly uncovered before the Tribunal indicates.
An eye-opening revelation has surfaced regarding INEC’s payment of a staggering sum of N47,449,290.90 to Superflux Printing on four separate occasions, all on the same day (19/08/2020), into the company’s Access Bank account with account number xxxxxx0557. The payment description read: M2867/PMT 4 SS Ballot P, and it was made from CBN’s INEC Electoral account.
Furthermore, on June 23rd, 2020, INEC reportedly credited another of Tokunbo Talabi’s corporate accounts with Access Bank (account number xxxxxx8513) with the sum of N98,898,581.80, which was promptly transferred to the first account. Once again, the transaction description mirrored the previous one.
Given that Talabi is an interested party in the election as the SSG to Dapo Abiodun, these shocking allegations suggest that he compromised the gubernatorial election with the use of excess printed ballot papers to manipulate the voting process.
The revelations have sent shockwaves through the political landscape in Ogun State, as the election petition tribunal continues its investigation into these serious allegations.
Seunmanuel Faleye is a brand and communications strategist. He is a covert writer and an overt creative head. He publishes Apple's Bite International Magazine.