Parties, CSOs seek INEC’s review of Edo governorship election results 

• PDP prepared to test poll’s integrity in court, says Damagum
• Obi: Election a model of ‘state capture’, undermines democratic process
• CDD, Yiaga urge INEC to take remedial actions, clarify inconsistencies
• Akpata flays alleged irregularities, commits to serving Nigeria
• Ighodalo commends Edo residents for resilience

There are growing calls for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to review the Edo State governorship election results.

The Commission on Sunday announced Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner with 291,667 votes. He was followed by the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who polled PDP 247, 274 while the Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata had 22,763 votes.

The PDP has already rejected the results, alleging they were manipulated.

However, the party’s National Chairman, Umar Damagum, yesterday reinforced that position, saying, “The PDP demands that INEC, within the time stipulated by Section 65 of the Electoral Act, 2022, review the Edo State governorship election and announce results only as obtained from the genuine votes cast at the polling units.”

Insisting that Ighodalo won the poll, Damagum declared in a press conference that the PDP would challenge the outcome announced by INEC in court.

“In this election, we shall still test once again the level of preparedness of the judiciary to do justice where it is required. So, we cannot overrule a situation whereby justice will be dispensed. But the most important thing is that we shall put them under more scrutiny before the eyes of Nigerians because they say that when the judicial system does not work, you don’t have a country. I don’t know if we will still have a country,” said Damagum.

Expressing displeasure over alleged manipulations of the election, Damagum said, “The 2024 Edo State governorship election was barefacedly compromised by the APC in collusion with unpatriotic security operatives and heavily procured officials of INEC, who viciously trampled on the votes of the people in defiance of the law and total disregard of the sovereign will of the people of Edo State.”

Damagum lamented that “despite the violence, intimidation and manipulations by the APC, results obtained from the polling units show that our candidate, Asue Ighodalo, clearly won the election before the figures were altered at the state collation exercise in favour of the defeated APC candidate.

“The PDP, therefore, unequivocally rejects the final result of the Edo State governorship election as declared by INEC as it did not meet the minimum standard for democracy; having not reflected the expressed will and aspiration of the people, in line with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 and INEC Guidelines for State Governorship Election.”

SPEAKING from across party lines, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi also criticised the election, describing it as a “blatant example of state capture” that undermines Nigeria’s democratic process.

In a statement via X yesterday, Obi expressed concern over the integrity of the nation’s electoral system, saying, “What happened over the weekend in the name of election in Edo State does not in any way represent the democratic process we chose as a method of electing our political leadership.”

He warned that such flawed leadership recruitment processes could have dire consequences for the nation, adding, “I urge those in authority not to allow this situation to stand, or depend on it to remain in power.”

Obi further emphasised the importance of adequately utilising INEC’s technological advancements, such as iReV and BVAS, to ensure free and fair polls.

Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa) also called on INEC to review the results uploaded to its Results Viewing Portal against those announced at polling locations.

The Chairman of the CDD-Election Analysis Centre (EAC), Prof Adele Jinadu, made the group’s position known during a post-election press briefing in Abuja.

“INEC should carefully review uploads on iRev against the announced results, and where discrepancies exist, take the necessary remedial actions,” CDD said.

CDD recommended that “any controversy or loss of confidence in this regard be resolved transparently and promptly before proceeding with final declarations. This particularly relates to CDD’s observed inconsistencies in Ovia North East, where incidences of blurred results, over-voting, and disparities in result uploads were reported by our observers.”

SIMILARLY, a civil society organisation, Yiaga Africa, said the election failed the integrity test, asking INEC to “urgently clarify the inconsistencies in some of the results, especially election results from Oredo, Egor, Esan West and LGAs.”

It also called for the “immediate investigation and prosecution of polling officials and collation officers who engaged in results manipulation and flagrant violations of guidelines on results collation.”

In a statement signed by Samson Itodo, Yiaga’s executive director, and Aisha Abdullahi, chairperson of the 2024 Edo election mission, the organisation said that the election collation process was marred by inconsistencies, suggesting manipulation of the vote.

“Based on reports from 287 of 300 (96 per cent) sampled polling units, Yiaga Africa’s statistical analysis shows inconsistencies in the official results announced by INEC,” the statement reads.

“For instance, the official results announced by INEC for APC in Oredo and Egor LGAs fall outside the PRVT estimate. In Esan West LGA, the official results for PDP fall outside the PRVT estimates. Also, in Oredo LGA, the official results for LP fall outside the PRVT estimates.

“These inconsistencies with Yiaga Africa’s PRVT estimates indicate that the results were altered at the collation level.

“The disparities between the official results released by INEC and Yiaga Africa’s PRVT estimates indicate manipulation of results during the collation process. Yiaga Africa strongly condemns the actions of some biased INEC officials who altered figures during collation, including the actions of some security officials who interfered with the collation process.

“Yiaga Africa notes that the cases of disruption in Ikpoba/Okha, Etsako West, Egor, and Oredo LGAs in the course of collation created opportunities for election manipulation, raising significant concerns about the credibility and integrity of the results collation process.”

Yiaga said, “INEC’s turnout and rejected ballots for the 18 LGA released are consistent with Yiaga Africa WTV PRVT estimates. Yiaga Africa can estimate that turnout is between 20.9 per cent and 24.1 per cent (22.5 per cent ± 1.6 per cent), while INEC’s official result is 22.4 per cent,” it said.

“Similarly, Yiaga Africa estimates for rejected ballots are between 2.2 per cent and 3.2 per cent (2.7 per cent ± 0.5 per cent).”

ALSO, Labour Party candidate Olumide Akpata criticised the recent election, alleging that it was marred by vote-buying by the APC and the PDP.

Despite this, Akpata expressed his determination to contribute to improving Nigeria and Edo State.

He expressed his willingness to take on any role that contributes to reorganising and improving the country, even as he highlighted his dedication to serving Nigeria and Edo State.

During a press conference, Akpata said the election lacked integrity and was more of a transaction than a fair electoral process.

He highlighted issues such as voter intimidation and result falsification and expressed concern over the involvement of some loyal LP members in selling their future for minimal gains.

Akpata also criticised the existence of a collegiate government system involving godfathers and surrogate governors.

Regarding potential legal action, he mentioned that the election results have been submitted for forensic analysis before deciding on the next steps.

When asked about a speculated opportunity to serve in the National Assembly in 2027, Akpata stressed his generation’s focus on service and the desire to bring about positive change.

Meanwhile, Ighodalo has commended the people of Edo for their resilience during the election.

In a message to the state’s residents, he said: “I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to every one of you who has stood by us on this incredible journey. I would like to particularly thank the good people of Edo State who defied the rains, intimidation, threats of violence, harassment, arrests, and financial inducements to cast their votes for us overwhelmingly, last Saturday, September 21, 2024. You are the true heroes of our democracy, and your sacrifices for a better Edo State will never be forgotten.”