- Edo Election Failed Integrity Test, Witnessed Widespread Results Manipulation – Yiaga
- Ighodalo Breaks Silence, Says “Our Mandate Was Stolen’, PDP Heads To Court
- Obi, Akpata Condemn Election Outcome, Bemoan 20% Voters ‘ Turnout
The September 21, 2024 Gubernatorial election in Edo State that has produced Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the governor-elect of the state has been greeted with widespread outrage and condemnation.
The Matrix had earlier reported that the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) late on Sunday September 22, 2024 declared the APC flag bearer as the winner of the election.
The returning officer, Prof. Faruk Adamu Kuta, announced that the APC candidate secured 291,667 votes, defeating his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who had 247,274 votes and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) with 22,763 votes.
However, in a condemnation of the poll, Yiaga Africa, one of the accredited observers of the Saturday’s off-cycle poll failed integrity test, as there was widespread manipulation of results.
This was contained in the post-election statement of the organisation on the governorship election, co-signed by Dr. Aisha Abdullahi, Chair of the 2024 Edo Election Mission, and Samson Itodo, Executive Director, Yiaga Africa.
Yiaga Africa said it deployed the Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) methodology for the election, involving 300 stationary and 25 roving observers, covering a representative sample of polling units (PUs) across all 18 LGAs, and found lapses.
“The PRVT enables Yiaga Africa to independently assess the quality of Election Day processes and verify the accuracy of the official election results as announced by INEC. Yiaga Africa observers also deployed to the State and LGA results collation centers to observe the process, ensuring timely and accurate reporting of the election process.
“Yiaga Africa has successfully deployed this methodology in two Presidential elections and 16 off-cycle governorship elections… while there were some level of compliance in areas of material deployment and other processes, 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 PUs, Yiaga Africa can project the expected vote shares for each party within a narrow margin.
However, Yiaga Africa 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 have been manipulated.
“According to INEC, the APC received 51.1% of the votes, PDP 43.3% of the votes, and the LP garnered 4.0% of the votes. Based on reports from 287 of 300 (96%) sampled PUs, 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.
READ ALSO: Edo Poll: “It Wasn’t Election, But Transaction” – Say Olumide Akpata
“Yiaga Africa 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,” it said.
The report which condemned the acts of violence and disruption of voting and results collation process by political thugs and hoodlums, particularly violence directed at voters and election officials, said the development undermine the integrity of the elections.
Yiaga Africa also said that the turnout for the election did not meet the resilience test as voter turnout plummeted despite high PVC collection rates recorded for the election, with only 22.4% of the voters turned out, lower than the 27% turnout observed in 2020.
“Nevertheless, Yiaga Africa commends the resilience of the voters who turned out despite the rain and voting delays, staying back to fulfill their civic duties.”
Meanwhile, Ighodalo, has lamented that the election was “stolen by the opposition”.
Speaking on Monday, Ighodalo claimed the electoral process was marred by intimidation, threats of violence, harassment, arrests and financial inducements.
“We ran a great campaign, and your overwhelming support was evident in the ballots before our progress was unjustly halted on September 21st, 2024 by people who do not mean well for you or for our state,” he said.
“That 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.
READ ALSO: Edo Poll: “Triumph Of Evil Over Good Is Only Temporary” – Ighodalo
“Yet, in the face of this challenge, we must not be discouraged. The illusory triumph of evil over good is only temporary.”
Ighodalo urged the people of Edo not to lose faith, adding that they should remain committed to creating a prosperous state.
“Our journey towards a prosperous Edo State does not end here; it is just beginning. Let us remain engaged, committed, and united in our collective resolve to create a Pathway to Prosperity for All in Edo State,” he said.
“You did not abandon me during our campaign; and I promise you that as we face a daunting and uncertain future together, I will not abandon you.”
His political party has taken a step further by heading to court to seek redress.
The Acting National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagum, at a press conference on Monday, said the party will explore all legal and democratic means to retrieve “the stolen mandate” of its candidate.
“The PDP charges the people of Edo State to remain resolute and undeterred as our Party takes sure and firm steps to retrieve the mandate with every means legal and available in a democracy,” Damagum said.
Continuing, the PDP national chairman accused the APC of conniving with government-controlled agencies to rig out the PDP candidate.
“It is clear that our democracy is under threat,” Damagum said, alleging that the 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”.
He said, “You may recall that the PDP had on several occasions alerted of this sinister plot by the APC to subvert the election, the roles allegedly being played by AIG Zone 7, Benneth Igwe and Edo State Commissioner of Police CP Nemo Edwin-Iwo and the appointment of a known APC apologist and supporter, Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, as the Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC).
READ ALSO: Edo Poll: “Triumph Of Evil Over Good Is Only Temporary” – Ighodalo
“Several demands by our Party for the redeployment of these officials as well as the release of all arrested PDP members and supporters fell on deaf ears and tend to validate PDP’s suspicion of a top-level conspiracy to rig the Edo State governorship election.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
In a related development, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi and Akpata have roundly condemned the conduct of the election.
“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.
“Instead, it was a blatant example of ‘state capture’ and continued gross undermining of our democratic process and values,” Obi said in a Monday post on X.
Speaking further, Obi said the election was flawed with irregularities that those in authority should not allow to stand.
He said, “As a country, we have invested significantly in IReV and BVAS, and they must be allowed to function and used properly in order to free our electoral process from the massive falsification that has plagued it and worsening.
“To the agencies and individuals being used to undermine our democracy simply because they hold positions of authority, please remember that your time in office is not eternal. The society that you are helping to destroy today will eventually take her revenge on you tomorrow.
“To the lecturers and others complicit in perpetuating this charade, you must reflect deeply on the roles you are playing in damaging the very foundation of our democracy.
“The damage you are causing today will inevitably take revenge on you tomorrow and affect your children in the future.
“This kind of action has no place in a true democracy. That is why I have always maintained that today’s politics is not about capturing power, but about saving the country and making it work for everyone, regardless of their background.”
Similarly, Akpata in a Monday statement condemned the election saying it was for the highest bidder.
“As attested to by YIAGA Africa, a leading civil society organisation and domestic observer group, our sacred electoral process was reduced to a commodities market – a bidding war for votes,” he said.
READ ALSO: Peter Obi Criticizes Edo Election As “State Capture,” Warns of Consequences For Nigeria’s Democracy
According to Akpata, the vote-buying and voter apathy “effectively disenfranchised the people of Edo State”.
“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,” the LP candidate said.
“More insidiously, we witnessed one of the lowest voter turnouts in recent years, a testament to the apathy that has gripped our populace. This disengagement ultimately contributed to the worst-case scenario we now face.”
