Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki is still baffled over the sweeping of governorship polls in the state by candidate of All Progressives Congress on Saturday.
Obaseki’s governorship Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Asue Ighodalo is not spared the shock after he had lost to Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mr Okpebholo scoring 291,667 votes against Mr Ighodalo’s 247,274. The candidate of the Labour Party, Olumude Akpata, came third with 22,763 votes.
Ighodalo insisted, without proof, that he was robbed of victory.
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“That day (the election day) will forever be etched in our history as one of our darkest moments, marked by the brazen theft of our mandate and the shameful subversion of the will of the people,” Mr Ighodalo said in a statement personally issued by him on Monday, two days after the election.
‘‘From our perspective, the way these elections are going, they’re probably going to be the worst elections in the history of this country.
“We have information, for instance, where we have over 20 polling units, where the accredited voters are less than the total votes, which is not possible,” Mr Ighodalo said on Sunday while collation of results was going on.
Like Mr Ighodalo, Governor Obaseki also accused INEC and the APC of manipulating the outcome of the election.
“It is obvious to the least discerning the amount of impunity and reckless disregard for processes and law that was displayed in this gubernatorial election,” Mr Obaseki said in a recorded video he shared via his X account, apparently after the APC candidate was declared winner of the election on Sunday.
Similarly, the PDP said it stands by the results obtained by its polling agents across the state and confirmed by the chairman of the Edo PDP National Campaign Council, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State. The results alleged that Ighodalo won the election.
Fintiri had expressed deep concern over the state of Nigeria’s democracy following the recent Edo State governorship election, describing it as yet another attack on the country’s democratic process.
Fintiri, who chaired the PDP campaign council for the election, alleged that the poll was marred by vote-buying, disruption of collation processes, and questionable results.
In a post on social media platform X, the Adamawa governor said he was heartbroken by the conduct of the election.
“I weep for Nigeria’s democracy after witnessing the shameful Edo gubernatorial poll,” Fintiri wrote.
Before INEC announced the final results, Fintiri held a press conference alongside Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and PDP candidate Asue Ighodalo.
During the briefing, Fintiri presented what he described as collated results from some local government areas in Edo State. His move drew criticism from some political figures who accused him of overstepping his bounds and “usurping the powers” of the electoral commission.
Defending his actions, Fintiri said he did not announce any results but merely shared data from INEC’s IREV portal, which publishes election results in real time.
“The APC’s desperate attempts to discredit me by falsely claiming I announced results won’t distract from the real issue. I merely shared results from INEC’s IREV portal, as collated by INEC from the various Local Government Areas,” he said.
Fintiri also criticised the conduct of the APC on election day, accusing the party of violating electoral norms. He pointed to the presence of APC’s national chairman in Edo State on election day, despite restrictions on movement, as well as reports of APC governors using armored escorts to intimidate voters.
“This blatant disregard for democratic norms is the real brigandage,” Fintiri said.
The Adamawa governor also voiced concerns over allegations of vote-buying and irregularities in the collation process, which he claimed undermined the integrity of the election. He accused INEC of compromising its neutrality and favoring the APC, citing reports of results that exceeded the number of accredited voters in some areas.
“Nigerians are outraged, slamming INEC for compromising and favouring APC. The reported vote-buying, disruption of collation processes, and suspicious results with more votes than accredited voters undermine trust in our democracy,” he added.
Fintiri called on Nigerians and the international community to condemn what he termed “the rape of democracy” and to demand accountability for the irregularities witnessed during the election.
“Democracy indeed is under attack. We must condemn this rape of democracy and demand accountability. The world is watching, and Nigeria deserves better,” Fintiri stated.
He further alleged that agents of the PDP were denied access to collation centers during the election, a move he claimed contributed to the flawed process.
Also, the Edo State chapter of PDP protested the collation of results in the governorship election by INEC. It alleged that the commission was manufacturing votes, entering an unjust inflation of APC votes, and deducting PDP votes.
In a statement by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the PDP said, “As Governor Fintiri presented, the results collated from the polling units have Asue Ighodalo in clear lead before the state collation exercise was hijacked by the APC, which in connivance with some unscrupulous INEC and security officials, engaged in blatant alteration and substitution of the genuine results with fabricated figures in favour of the defeated APC candidate.”
The statement released before the final declaration of the results by INEC said PDP had on several occasions alerted Nigerians to the sinister plot by APC and its candidate, Okpebholo.
According to Ologunagba, “The PDP in the strongest terms, cautions the APC and INEC not to announce or declare any result that does not reflect the will of the people as expressed at the polling units. Such will be a recipe for a huge crisis in the state, as the people of Edo State will never allow their mandate in illegitimate hands.
“Our party again cautions INEC not to lose sight of the violent protest that trailed the criminal attempt by the former Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mallam Hudu Ari, to alter the outcome of the 2023 governorship election in that state, which nearly led to the death of some INEC officials.
“Any attempt to change the results of the Edo State governorship election and allocate victory to a defeated candidate will provoke worse consequences. INEC must, therefore, do that which is right in the interest of peace, stability and sustenance of Democracy in Nigeria.”
