As the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) resumed collation of results for the 2024 governorship election conducted in Edo State on Saturday, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called for retrospection.
Upon resumption of results collation for the Edo governorship election on Sunday, INEC announced results for Oredo local government area, making it 17 local government areas the electoral umpire has announced results for so far.
Results presented by the collation officer for Oredo LGA indicated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the LGA with 30780 votes. The PDP polled a total of 24938 votes in the LGA while the Labour Party polled 5389 votes.
NaijaOnPoint.com.ng (NOP) reports before INEC suspended collation of results, LGA collation officers had already presented election results for 16 local government areas. INEC had collated results from Igueben, Esan West, Owan West, Uhunmwonde, Ovia North East and Esan South East local government areas. Others are Egor, Akoko Edo, Esan Central, Esan North East, Ovia South West, Orhionmwon, Owan East, Etsako East, Etsako Central and Etsako West local government areas.
Thus, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Monday Okpebholo has won 11 local government areas out the 16 LGAs in Edo declared so far. Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Asue Ighodalo has 6 LGAs, while the Labour Party candidate, Olumide Akpata is yet to claim any LGA.
Meanwhile, from the total vote cast so far declared, Okpebholo has polled a total of 275,329 votes, while Ighodalo has polled 220,892 votes and Akpata has managed 18,737 votes.
Speaking shortly after the results from Oredo LGA were announced, Prof. Faruk Adamu Kuta, INEC’s Returning Officer in charge of the election announced that tabulation of results into the election result sheet would commence while results from Ikpoba Okha is being awaited.
Edo: PDP requests INEC chairman to review results before final declaration
Meanwhile, the PDP in Edo has appealed to the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to review the results collated for the governorship election before the final announcement of the winner of the election.
Dr Anthony Aziegbemi, PDP Chairman in Edo told newsmen on Sunday in Benin that the entries the electoral officers made were totally different from the actual results uploaded on the INEC IREV at the polling units.
Aziegbemi noted that the results had allegedly been inflated in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) through deducted votes from the PDP.
He alleged that in Akoko-Edo, votes recorded in the polling unit results uploaded on the IREV showed that the APC obtained 25,010 while 34,847 votes was recorded in the EC8C declared by the local government returning officer.
“While for the PDP, the results uploaded on the IREV is 18,620 but 15,865 was recorded on the EC8C declared by the returning officer.
“It would interest you to know that in ward 9, Akoko Edo LGA, from the 36 polling units results uploaded on the IREV, the total votes obtained by APC is 2,350 while 9,104 was entered into the EC8C result for APC. The total votes for PDP is 1,359 while 633 was entered in the EC8C.
“Also, in Ward six Akoko Edo, where elections did not hold in units 12, 17, 15, 18, 14 and 16, results were returned for the said polling units in the ward result sheet (EC8C), ” he said.
Also in Egor, Aziegbemi alleged that votes recorded in the polling unit results uploaded on the IREV showed that the APC obtained 10,972 votes while 16,760 votes was recorded in the EC8C declared.
“While for the PDP, the results uploaded on the IREV is 14,485 but 14,658 was returned on the EC8C declared by the local government returning officer.
”It would interest you to note that the collation of Egor was not done at the designated LGA centre but was moved to the INEC state headquarters and the PDP agent was not allowed access to be part of the exercise,” he added.
According to him, there are also similar discrepancies in Etsako West, were results uploaded on the IREV are totally different from the results recorded on the EC8C declared by the returning officer.
He said: “The above highlighted irregularities which are very apparent are extremely scandalous and a brazen attempt to steal the mandate of the PDP.
“We, therefore, demand the immediate re-collation and recompilation of the actual results for the various polling units in the above highlighted local government areas.
“In compliance with the INEC guidelines and regulations, which mandates that votes from various units and wards be properly collated”.