APC’s Apparatchik Overwhelms Obaseki, Returns Okpebholo as Edo State Governor

*Akpabio leads 10 governors, leaders in massive show of strength

* Governor-elect thanks Edo people

*Outgoing governor calls for calm, vows to seek justice in court

*How APC made poll referendum on Obaseki

*Tinubu, Buhari, Barau congratulate winner

*PDP backs Fintiri, insists its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, is winner

*Observers raise concern about commission’s transparency in collation, fault process

*Police activate post-election security strategy 

Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha, Sunday Aborisade, Linus Aleke in Abuja, Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City and Hammed Shittu in Ilorin  

The political machine of All Progressives Congress (APC), at the weekend, overwhelmed Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State in the September 21 governorship election, and returned the party’s candidate, Monday Okpebholo, as the new governor of the state.

According to the results declared Sunday night by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Okpebholo scored 291, 667 votes and won in 11 local government areas, to beat his main rival, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 247, 274 votes and won in seven local government areas.

Over all, APC got 56 per cent of the total votes cast, while PDP pulled off 35 per cent, and the Labour Party (LP), whose candidate, Olumide Akpata, came a distant third, had nine per cent of votes cast.

Okpebholo thanked the Edo electorate for giving him the mandate to lead.

He said in a short statement, “Thank you, my people of Edo State! Your trust and support have brought us this victory.

“Together, we will build a brighter future for our state, ensuring progress, unity, and prosperity for all.

“This is just the beginning – let’s continue to move forward, hand in hand. God bless Edo State!”

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, had led about 10 APC governors and other leaders of the party to Edo State, in a massive show of strength, leaving nothing to chance in ensuring victory for their party.

Obaseki sued for calm, and promised PDP supporters and their candidate that he will seek justice in court.

Curiously, the APC success was largely secured on the back of Obaseki’s numerous running battles, which seemed to make the election a referendum on the governor.

Many believed the many conflicts Obaseki faced at the same time was a critical factor that contributed to his party’s defeat.

President Bola Tinubu congratulated Okpebholo on his victory at the poll. 

Former President Muhammadu Buhari, too, greeted the APC candidate for “this prized, historic electoral victory”.

Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Jibrin Barau, said the APC victory was a vote of confidence on Tinubu.

However, PDP said it stood by the results garnered by its polling agents across the state and echoed by the chairman of the Edo PDP National Campaign Council, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, which, allegedly, indicated that the party’s candidate, Ighodalo, won the election.

Equally, the Edo State chapter of PDP protested the results collation process by INEC, accusing the commission of manufacturing votes, entering an unjust inflation of APC votes, and deducting PDP votes. 

Elsewhere in Kwara State, yesterday, PDP members also embarked on a peaceful protest against the conduct and outcome of last Saturday’s local government polls in the state, where APC was declared winner in all the 16 local government areas. 

Earlier, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) advised INEC to maintain neutrality and ensure the sanctity of the electoral process in Edo State.

In a similar vein, a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) accredited to observe the Edo State governorship election raised concerns over the transparency of the collation process. 

PDP said the rush and venom with which APC attacked Fintiri, following his declaration of PDP’s win, only confirmed the party’s violent desperation to cover its manipulations and steal the mandate freely given to Ighodalo by the people of Edo State. 

The Nigeria Police promptly activated its post-election security strategy as the Edo 2024 governorship election was gradually wound up.  

Declaring Okpebholo winner, INEC Chief Returning Officer, Faruq Kuta, said having satisfied the requirements and scored the highest number of votes, Okpebholo was returned as governor of Edo State

But the PDP and LP State Agents, Osaigbovo Iyoha and Sam Omede, respectively, refused to endorse the result announced by INEC, as they walked out of the collation centre after the declaration by INEC.

APC, which was thrown into wild jubilation, described their win as victory for democracy. The party had mobilised heavily to Edo State with 10 governors and several other prominent leaders of the party from across the country.

APC considered the election important to Tinubu, and tied up all loose ends from the beginning of the process. It sent teams of party members to different parts of Edo State to monitor the election, as it was not prepared to take chances.

APC had successfully made the election a referendum on the outgoing governor, taking advantage of his feud with different power centres in the state and the federal government, including Oba of Benin and Senator Adams Oshiomhole. 

Tinubu, Buhari, Barau Greet Okpebholo

Tinubu congratulated the APC candidate on his victory.

In a release by his adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the president commended APC national leaders, Edo State leaders, and party’s governors for working hard to achieve the victory. 

He said the victory testified to the people’s support for the ruling party at the centre, its progressive ideals, its economic reengineering programme, and its commitment to improving the lives of Nigerians. 

Tinubu urged Okpebholo not to gloat over his victory, but to see it as a challenging call to service. He encouraged the incoming governor to demonstrate magnanimity by reaching out to his political rivals and uniting the people of Edo State to ensure its development. 

Tinubu also praised other candidates, who participated in the election for their contributions to advancing Nigeria’s democracy, saying peaceful political contests, such as the one on Saturday, portray Nigeria as a stable democracy. 

The president urged all those aggrieved by the election outcome to seek redress through the legal channels.  

In addition, Tinubu commended the people of Edo State for their orderly and peaceful conduct during the election, underscoring the maturing of Nigeria’s democracy after 25 years. 

Tinubu was quoted as saying in the statement, “I commend the INEC and our security agencies for working round the clock to conduct a successful, peaceful and largely hitch-free exercise. 

“INEC has once again demonstrated that it is committed to organising a free and fair election in our country.”

Buhari expressed hope that the leaders of the incoming administration and the parties that lost would work together to strengthen democracy and maintain the trajectory of the state’s development.

In a congratulatory message, the ex-president stated, “Congratulations to the APC and the election winner, Senator Monday Okpebholo, on the historic electoral victory and my warmest wishes for a new lease of life for Edo State and its people.

“I very much hope the winners and the losers would work together to strengthen democracy and maintain the trajectory of development in the state.

“I commend law enforcement agencies for the efforts that they put in ensuring a peaceful election and the multitude of election officials who strive to improve their act with each election.

“I pray that the Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country, will continue to achieve remarkable progress under democracy.”

Barau, in a statement by his media aide, Ismail Mudashir, said the people’s will remained the most potent force in any democracy. He and commended INEC for upholding the people’s will, as expressed by their votes.

The deputy senate president also applauded the visionary leadership of the national chairman of APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, which, according to him, gave the party more cohesion and ultimately led to the party’s victory in the election. 

Barau stated, “The victory of our great party, the All Progressives Congress, in last Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State is well-deserved.  

“I congratulate the governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo, and all our supporters for this victory. It is not just a victory for the APC but for our democracy and the people of Edo State.

“This victory is a further expression of the confidence of the people of the state in the exemplary leadership and performance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu since his assumption of office in May last year.”

PDP Backs Fintiri, Insists Its Candidate, Asue Ighodalo,is Winner

PDP said it stood by the results gotten 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.

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.”

Edo PDP Objects to Results Announcement, Alleges Manufacture, Unjust Vote Entries

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.

The state chairman of PDP, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, who made the allegation at a press conference, said he called the conference because of what the party saw on the conduct of the election. Aziegbemi alleged that the process was characterised by massive irregularities.

Requesting that INEC should look into the party’s observations, Aziegbemi said preliminary reports from the electoral umpire in three local government areas showed massive discrepancies.

For example, he said Egor collation did not take place in the local government area, contrary to the electoral law, which required that all collations must be at the local government.

Aziegbemi told INEC that entries made were totally different from the actual results as uploaded on the INEC IREV, thereby unjustly inflating votes in favour of APC and deducting the votes of PDP. 

Specifically, Aziegbemi said in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, a simple collation of all the votes recorded in the polling unit results uploaded on the IREV showed that APC obtained 25,010 votes while PDP got 34,847 votes.

He stated, “It would interest you that in Ward 9 Akoko Edo LGA, from the 36 polling unit results uploaded on the IREV, the total votes obtained by APC is 2,350 while 9,104 was entered into the EC8B result for APC. The total votes for PDP is 1,359 while 633 was entered in the EC8B. 

“Also, in Ward 6 Akoko Edo LGA, where elections did not hold in Ward 6 Units 12, 17, 15, 18, 14 and 16, results were returned for the said polling units in the Ward Result sheet (EC8B).”

The Edo PDP chairman requested INEC not to announce the final results until all the observations were corrected. He added that if the right thing was done, Ighodalo of PDP would win the election.

CNPP Charges INEC to Remain Impartial, Not Destroy Democracy

Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) warned INEC to maintain neutrality and ensure the sanctity of the electoral process in the Edo election.

In a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade James Ezema, CNPP emphasised, “As Edo State citizens have exercised their right to vote, INEC must remain impartial and transparent during the collation of results. 

“It is worrisome and troubling that the feelers we are getting from Edo State confirm a deliberate ploy by one of the big parties, who are mouthing the support of Mr President, and insisting on changing the results and the figures already on the INEC portal. Mr President must call them to order.”

CNPP insisted that INEC must safeguard the trust of Nigerians by prioritising the integrity of the process, warning against manipulation or undermining democracy in the state.

“INEC must not allow itself to be used to scuttle democracy in Edo State under any circumstances,” CNPP cautioned.

With the Ondo State governorship election on the way, CNPP stressed the importance of INEC demonstrating its commitment to conducting credible elections to restore confidence in the electoral process after the questionable 2023 general election.

Election Observers Raise Concern About INEC’s Transparency in Collation Process

Election observers raised concerns about the transparency of INEC in the Edo election.

The observers included Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room, Yiaga Africa, Kimpact Development Initiative, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, ElectHER and TAF Africa

They said in a joint statement, “We, the undersigned accredited civil society organisations observing the 2024 Edo governorship elections, express concern over the transparency of the ongoing results collation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“Reports of disruptions at ward and local government collation centres, including intimidation of INEC officials and attempts to collate results contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines, raise significant concerns about the credibility of the results collation process. 

“We acknowledge INEC’s recent statement recognising reports of result mutilation and its commitment to investigate and address any proven violations.

“In light of this, we urge INEC to invoke its powers under Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022 to review any declarations and returns where results were not declared voluntarily or violated provisions of the electoral act and INEC regulations, and guidelines.

“We further call on security agencies to refrain from interference in the collation process and to ensure that accredited party agents, the media, and election observers are granted full access to collation centres. 

“We wish to emphasise that the role of security agencies in the election is to safeguard the process and not to create a situation that will undermine the transparency of the process and, thus, impact negatively on the credibility of the outcome of the election.”

PDP Protests against Kwara LG Polls

Members of PDP in Kwara State, yesterday, embarked on a peaceful protest against the conduct and outcome of last Saturday’s local council election. 

The party said the election was marred by a lot of electoral malpractices and lacked credibility, and, therefore, rejected the results announced by the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC).

KWASIEC declared all the chairmanship and councillorship candidates of APC as winners of the election in the state.

Stakeholders in the state expressed their divergent views on the conduct and outcome of the election.

PDP in the state marched to the office of KWASIEC, located at Fate Road, Ilorin, to express their objection to the election.

The protesters held various placards with inscriptions like, “Kwara people say no to the continuation of bad governance led by the APC,” and “LG election results declared by KWASIEC is fake.”

Speaking with journalists at the KWASIEC office in Ilorin, a former commissioner in the state, who led the protest, Saratu Adebayo, accused the state electoral commission of forging the results.

Police Activate Post-election Security Strategy

The Nigeria Police activated its post-election security strategy as the Edo governorship election came to an end yesterday.  

The police said the strategy included, but not limited to, “Show of Force Exercise,” designed to boost the confidence of citizens and reassure the people of the readiness of the force to respond appropriately to any possible threat to public safety and security in the state. 

A statement by Force Public Relations Officer (PRO), Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in-charge of the elections, DIG Frank Mba, in line with the post-election security strategy, ordered enhanced deployment in and around INEC facilities, key stakeholders involved in the election, and other critical infrastructure within the state. 

Adejobi stated, “The Nigeria Police Force called on citizens to remain peaceful and law abiding while going about their endeavours. 

“The Force, however, warns against any conduct by any individual or group capable of disrupting the existing peace in the state.” 

The PRO concluded that the police and other security agencies were prepared to ensure continuous peace in the state.