…assures of reclaiming ‘stolen mandate’
…says party members illegally arrested were released after payment of N64m
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State said on Monday it has successfully filed a petition against the September 21 governorship election that produced Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner, expressing confidence that it would reclaim its “stolen mandate”.
Chairman of the PDP in the state, Dr. Anthony Aziegbemi, while briefing journalists in Benin City, the state capital, noted that the party was aware of the devious ploy of the APC to stall the order given by a competent court for the PDP to inspect election materials at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at Aduwawa, but that the party was tactical and beat the APC to its own game.
“We have begun the journey to reclaim the people’s mandate and a petition has been filed before the Edo State Election Tribunal. Against all odds, the petition has been filed as APC’s plan is for us not to successfully file the petition. The mandate given to PDP will be reclaimed,” Aziegbemi said.
“We have put our fingers where the problem is and the election tribunal will surely give us our mandate based on overwhelming evidence before them,” he said.
Aziegbemi said while the PDP was busy gathering evidence to pursue its case at the tribunal, the APC and its chairman were lying and spreading falsehood.
“He lied that the PDP is disrupting activities in the INEC office forgetting that the process is in the interest of the PDP. Why should PDP now be the party to disrupt the exercise that is in its favour?
“If APC truly won the September 21st governorship election in Edo State, why are they causing confusion and problems in the INEC office? They lie without thinking it through.
“Tenebe Jarrett and the APC are the ones stealing the people’s phones and the money of POS operators. They were disrupting the process because it is not in their favour. If you won, why fight hard to stop the other person from inspecting the process? Are you stopping the people to see how you won?” he queried.
The Edo PDP chairman said he wrote a memo to the INEC National Headquarters in Abuja on September 24, 2024, which was premised on the provision of the Electoral Acts, section 65 (1C), the powers of INEC to review results after one week of declaration.
“The reply from INEC will shock you. They said in their reply that the section of the Electoral Act is for internal purposes only, not for outsiders or candidates, or party’s use on a declaration already made by returning officers,” he said.
On the release of PDP chieftains arrested by a special unit of the Nigerian Police from Abuja before the elections, Aziegbemi said most of them have been released as they paid cumulatively about N64 million, despite the police claim that bail is free.
“As we speak, they are still planning to arrest more of our members just to make sure we don’t get together to pursue our cause. We have taken a decision on briefing you weekly to enable you to know the happenings in the political scene,” he said.
Also speaking, the Director General of the Edo State PDP Governorship Campaign Council, Mathew Iduoriyekemwen, said, “Democracy gives us the constitutional right to vote for who will lead us and that constitutional right can’t be denied Edo people; that is why we have taken steps to pursue our case to a logical conclusion.”
