…as PDP rejects results, insists Ighodalo won
…YIAGA Africa says election failed electoral integrity test
…Athena Centre submits FoI request for election data
More reactions have been trailing the outcome of the September 21, 2024 Edo State governorship election, in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo, as winner.
INEC said it declared Okpebholo winner “having satisfied the requirement of the law”.
According to INEC records, Okpebholo won in 12 out of the 18 local government areas in the state, scoring a total of 291,667 votes, while the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Asue Ighodalo, scored 246,674 votes.
But the declaration has not gone down well with many, including the PDP, which on Monday officially rejected the results of the election as announced by INEC.
The Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Amb. Umar Damagum, at a media briefing in Abuja, insisted that the people of Edo State voted for the PDP candidate and expect nothing less than him being announced as governor-elect.
Damagum charged the INEC to use the window left in the Electoral Act to do the right thing by retracing its steps.
According to him, the PDP had raised the alarm of plans by the APC, working in cahoots with “the compromised INEC and the AIG of Police in charge of the zone, to manipulate the process long before they executed their plot”.
Similarly, Yiaga Africa, one of the observers for the 2024 Edo governorship election, said the Saturday 21, 2024 election failed the electoral integrity test as INEC officials compromised the collation process.
The non-profit, in its Post Election Statement on the September 2024 Edo State Governorship Election signed by the Chair, Edo 2024 Election Mission, Dr. Aisha Abdullahi, and Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, stated that “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”.
On the conduct of the election by INEC, Yiaga Africa, said: “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, 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 All Progressive Congress (APC) received 51.1% of the votes, Peoples 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, Yiaga Africa said 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,” it said.
Yiaga Africa called for the immediate investigation and prosecution of polling officials and collation officers who are engaged in results manipulation and flagrant violations of the guidelines on results collation.
It also called on INEC to urgently clarify the inconsistencies in some of the results, especially election results from Oredo, Egor, Esan West and LGAs.
“INEC should issue detailed guidelines for exercising its powers to review declarations and returns made contrary to provisions of the Electoral Act and regulations and guidelines. This should include procedures for receiving complaints, timeframe, format, and who is eligible to submit complaints,” Yiaga Africa said.
Meanwhile, the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership has submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for vital data related to the recently concluded Edo State gubernatorial election, held on September 21, 2024.
The Centre, in its FOI request, is seeking specific accreditation data from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and official collation forms, including EC8Bs, EC8Cs, and EC8Ds, from polling units, wards, and Local Government Areas (LGAs) across the state.
In a statement on Monday, the Athena Centre assured Nigerians that it would not express any opinions or conclusions regarding the Edo election until a thorough review of the requested data is completed. The Centre emphasised that its process is “meticulous and based on evidence,” adding that the post-election audit will “enlighten Nigerians and proffer legislative and administrative recommendations to enhance and ensure the integrity of the electoral process.”
The statement further urged citizens to remain calm and patient as the Centre embarks on its detailed review of the election, assuring that “if there are any irregularities or infractions, our review will uncover them.”
The Athena Centre’s mission is centred on ensuring that transparency and accountability are vital components of Nigeria’s electoral process.
“As a think tank dedicated to using evidence to guide policy and improve governance, we reaffirm our commitment to promoting credible elections and enhancing democratic processes through evidence-based analysis,” the Centre added.
