PDP rejects Edo Gov’ship election results, threatens court action

.Asks INEC to review results within stipulated period, declare Ighodalo winner

.Obaseki appeals for calm, as Akpata alleges falsification of results

.Edo guber poll failed integrity test, says Yiaga Africa

By Tunde Opalana, & Titus Akhigbe

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected results of the Edo State governorship election as announced on Sunday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), alleging discrepancies in the collation of results.

The party said it will take legal option of claiming the mandate given to its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, by the people of Edo State in Saturday’s gubernatorial poll but which was dubiously taken by the All Progressives Congress using state institutions such as INEC and security agencies.

Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Amb. Umar Iliya Damagum, said these on Monday while addressing the press on what he called the unacceptable outcome of the September 21, 2024 Governorship Election in Edo State.

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He said: “From unfolding political events in the country, the latest being the brazen rigging of the Saturday, September 21, 2024 Edo State Governorship election by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in connivance with government-controlled agencies, it is clear that our democracy is under threat.

“Nigerians and the world watched in horror as the APC-compromised security operatives and thugs unleashed terror, harass, arrest and detain PDP members and supporters, foisted siege mentality on the people and paved the way for APC agents and procured INEC officials to manipulate the ballot process, substitute genuine results from the Polling Units with fictitious figures and transferred the victory clearly won by our candidate, Asue Ighodalo to the defeated APC candidate, Monday Okpebholo.

“As Nigerians already know, despite the violence, intimidation and manipulations by the APC, results obtained from the Polling Units show that our candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo clearly won the election before the figures were altered at the State collation exercise in favour of the defeated APC candidate.

“As you know and widely reported in all segments of the media, the 2024 Edo State Governorship election was barefacedly compromised by the APC in collusion with unpatriotic security operatives and heavily procured officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who viciously trampled on the votes of the people in defiance of the Law and total disregard to the Sovereign Will of the people of Edo State.

“The people of Edo State clearly chose Dr. Asue Ighodalo as the next Governor of their State and only their Will as expressed at the Polling Units must be allowed to stand.”

“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.

According to Damagum, the PDP demands that INEC should “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.”

The PDP called on all Nigerians and lovers of democracy all over the world to “stand up in solidarity with the people of Edo State in rejecting this assault on the democratic rights of the people as witnessed in the Edo State Governorship election.”

When asked if the party still has confidence in the judiciary should it decide to challenge the result in court, the acting National Chairman said PDP will give the judiciary the benefit of doubt.

Damagun said: “In this election, we shall still put to test once again the level of the 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 to more scrutiny before the eyes of Nigerians because they say that when the judicial system does now work, then you don’t have a country. I don’t know if we will still have a country.”

The PDP charged the people of Edo State to remain resolute and undeterred as the party “takes sure and firm steps to retrieve the mandate with every means legal and available in a democracy.”

Meanwhile, following the declaration of Senator Monday Okpebholo as Governor-elect of Edo State, Governor Godwin Obaseki has called for calm.

He said this during a broadcast on Monday, while indicting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of allegedly assisting the All Progressives Congress (APC) to win the election.

His words: “In the last few months, the various political parties have embarked on very rigorous campaigns to sell their respective candidates for the office of governor to the people of Edo State in an exercise which came to a climax yesterday (Sunday) with the gubernatorial election. The attractive thing about democracy is the power it bestows on the people to choose who governs them. Therefore, when this power is blatantly seized from the people, it is not just a tragedy, but a travesty of democracy.

“Regrettably, the outcome of the September 21st governorship election appears to have daunted the spirit of many Edo people who feel powerless in the face of the brute force of the institutions that are supposed to protect them. It is therefore understandable that many people feel sad and aggrieved.

“But in the midst of this despair, I am urging all my fellow Edo citizens to maintain calm and not resort to violence and destruction of property in spite of this provocation.

“Peace and justice will always win in the end and this is my prescription to all the good people of Edo State who feel vexed and violated at this time. Clearly, 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.

“In a democracy, there are safeguards for addressing grievances, and we hope that those affected will seek resolution for this blatant disregard of law and process. With this in mind, I implore all Edo people to go about their lawful businesses and rest assured of the commitment of our government to your wellbeing and security”, Obaseki posited.

Meanwhile, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the just concluded Edo Governorship election, Barr Olumide Akpata, on Monday, said what transpired on 21st September 2024 was not an election but a transaction, stressing that it was voter buying and selling by both the APC and PDP.

Akpata also said it was nevertheless marred by voters’ intimidation and the falsification of results.

Briefing newsmen in Benin on the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election, Akpata said, although the election was largely free from historical forms of election-day malpractice such as ballot box snatching and stuffing, it was nevertheless marred by voter intimidation and the falsification of results.

He lamented a widespread vote-buying scheme by both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Akpata said the Labour Party steadfastly refused to engage in the cash and carry approach as it did not budget to compete with the two political parties, whose Governors perhaps may have dipped their hands into the States treasuries to provide the war chest for the show of shame.

“Even if we had the resources, we lacked the inclination to participate in such a perversion of democracy. Nothing illustrates this principle more clearly than the loss of my own polling unit. If I were so inclined, I could have easily mustered enough cash to secure enough votes to win my polling unit. But that is not the path we chose.

“Instead, we remained faithful to our brief in the sanctity of the ballot and the inalienable right of our people to freely choose their leaders without coercion inducement. This was not political naivety, but a testament to our unwavering commitment to true democracy—where a vote value lies in its power to effect change, not in the amount of Naira it can command.

“We reserve our strongest condemnation for those who engaged in vote buying: the APC and PDP. Their actions have directly contributed to the destruction of our state’s economy over the past 25 years, creating the enabling environment for this democratic sacrilege to thrive. This election has laid bare the stark reality that our political landscape is dominated not by ideologies or the people’s will, but by those with the deepest pockets and the most extensive networks of influence.

“I hold no sympathy for the PDP, who now cry foul after being outmaneuvered in this macabre game of thrones. They willingly participated in the bidding war with the APC, fully aware of the rules from the outset. Their lamentations ring hollow in the face of their own complicity in this democratic travesty,” Akpata said.

Akpata added that for the APC and the Governor-elect, their actions have undermined the democratic process, betrayed the trust of the very people they seek to lead, and eroded faith in the democratic institutions.

According to him, “this is the legacy that will overshadow their ill-gotten mandate. Their “grab, snatch, and run” playbook is akin to riding on the back of a tiger and will ultimately be the source of their undoing.

He pledged to remain committed to providing services to the people despite the outcome of the election, saying, “We remain steadfast in our commitment to building a democracy that works for all, not just the highest bidder.

“We continue to envision an Edo State, and a Nigeria, where ideas triumph over Naira, where the collective will of the people shapes our future, and where every citizen feels the impact of good governance in their daily lives.

“To achieve this vision, we must push for comprehensive electoral reform. We need to leverage technology to create foolproof systems that make vote buying not just difficult but impossible. We must also address the root causes that make our people susceptible to vote-selling.

“This means creating economic opportunities, improving education, and building a society where citizens do not feel compelled to mortgage their future for immediate gains,”Akpata said.

However, Civil Society group, Yiaga Africa has condemned the results of the Edo State governorship poll conducted on Saturday, saying that it failed the integrity test.

A statement released on Monday and signed by its Chair of the 2024 Edo Election Mission, Dr. Aisha Abdullahi, and its Executive Director, Samson Itodo argued that the 2024 Edo governorship election failed the electoral integrity test due to the lack of post-election statement on the transparency in the results collation process, which according to it, led to the manipulation of results.

It said: “While key processes such as accreditation, voting, counting, and recording of results at the polling unit substantially complied with procedures, the results collation process was compromised by the actions of some biased INEC officials in connivance with other actors.

“This manipulation severely undermines the overall integrity of the election.

The group said it concluded after it deployed the Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) methodology to observe the Edo State governorship election.

The method, it said, involved 300 stationary and 25 roving observers covering a representative sample of polling units across all 18 LGAs.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the candidate of the Alliance Peoples Congress (APC), Monday Okpebholo winner after defeating his main challengers, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party.

The APC candidate polled 291,667 votes, defeating Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes. Akpata of the LP finished a distant third with 22,763 votes.

The group said it recorded incidents of results manipulation and disruptions during ward and local government collation in Ikpoba/Okha, Etsako West, Egor and Oredo LGAs, including intimidation of INEC officials, observers and party agents and the collation of results.

It added: “Yiaga Africa’s estimates are based on official results announced at the polling unit, from a representative random sample of polling units. As highlighted in our pre-election report, Yiaga Africa will amongst other factors consider the quality of election day processes in assessing whether the 2024 Edo governorship satisfies the electoral integrity test. In this regard, Yiaga Africa considered the integrity of accreditation, voting, counting, and collation of results.

“INEC consistently applied its guidelines in managing the accreditation and voting process in a significant number of polling units. Despite some isolated incidents, Post-Election Statement on the September 2024 Edo State Governorship Election of inadequate election materials, the BVAS machines functioned optimally, and all voters in the queue by 2:30pm were allowed to vote, despite the late opening of polls. The polling officials uploaded polling unit results on the IReV in a timely manner, making it possible for citizens to access polling unit level results.

“However, the incidents of results manipulation and disruptions during ward and local government collation in Ikpoba/Okha, Etsako West, Egor and Oredo LGAs, including intimidation of INEC officials, observers and party agents and the collation of results contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines, severely undermine the credibility of the election results.”

Based on reports received from the sampled polling units, Yiaga Africa can project the expected vote shares for each party within a narrow margin.

However, it said it is only able to verify the election outcome if it falls within its estimated margins.

“If the official results do not fall within Yiaga Africa’s estimated ranges, then the results may, it said, have been manipulated.

“According to INEC, the All Progressive Congress (APC) received 51.1% of the votes, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) 43.3% of the votes, and the Labor Party garnered 4.0% of the votes. Based on reports from 287 of 300 (96%) sampled polling units, Yiaga Africa’s statistical analysis shows inconsistencies in the official results announced by INEC. 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 as announced for LP fall outside the PRVT estimates. These inconsistencies with Yiaga Africa’s PRVT estimates indicate that the results were altered at the level of collation.

“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.”

The group, however, said INEC’s turnout and rejected ballots for the 18 LGA released are consistent with its WTV PRVT estimates.

It said: “Yiaga Africa is able to estimate that turnout is between 20.9% and 24.1% (22.5% ± 1.6%), while INEC’s official result is 22.4%. Similarly, Yiaga Africa estimates for rejected ballots are between 2.2% and 3.2% (2.7% ± 0.5%).”