The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has responded sharply to claims by the PDP Governors Forum, who alleged election manipulation in the Edo State governorship election. INEC criticized the accusations as baseless and urged the party to present evidence in court.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed the claims made by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, accusing the electoral body of manipulating the Edo State governorship election results in favor of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Following the announcement of the September 21, 2024 Edo governorship election results, where APC candidate Monday Okpebholo emerged victorious with 291,667 votes, defeating PDP’s Dr. Asue Ighodalo who garnered 247,274 votes, the PDP Governors Forum has strongly contested the outcome.
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They alleged that INEC tampered with the results to favor Okpebholo, asserting that Ighodalo had actually won the majority of lawful votes.
In a statement issued after a two-day meeting in Jos, the PDP Governors Forum expressed concerns about what they termed the “rape of democracy” in Edo.
They further claimed that electoral malpractices, including vote-buying in Ondo, had compromised the fairness of the election process.
The forum called on the judiciary and lawmakers to strengthen electoral laws and prevent “institutional sabotage of the will of the people.”
Reacting to the accusations, INEC’s Chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi, labelled the claims as “unfortunate and inappropriate.”
Oyekanmi emphasized that INEC cannot comment on matters that are currently before the courts, referring to the petition filed by the PDP at the tribunal to challenge the Edo election results.
He criticized the PDP for pursuing a “media trial” instead of presenting its evidence in court. “Interestingly, it is the PDP that filed the petition at the tribunal to challenge the result of the Edo State governorship election that is now canvassing the same issues in the media,” Oyekanmi remarked. “One would expect the party and its candidate to tender their evidence in court to prove the allegations.”
On the claims about the Ondo election, Oyekanmi defended INEC’s conduct, describing it as one of the best elections the commission has held. He called for political parties to embrace sportsmanship and respect the results of elections.
In a separate response, the APC criticized the PDP Governors for focusing on media accusations instead of utilizing the proper legal channels to address their grievances. Bala Ibrahim, the APC National Publicity Director, urged the PDP to go to court instead of stoking public sentiment against INEC.
Ibrahim also expressed concerns about the PDP’s actions, recalling their refusal to sign the Peace Accord before the election. He questioned whether the party was attempting to incite public unrest or undermine constitutional processes.
“They should have a rethink,” Ibrahim added, “It is sad to even think that some of them are lawyers, some journalists who are supposed to be members of the fifth estate.”
The controversy over the Edo election results continues to unfold, with the PDP determined to challenge the outcome in court, while INEC maintains its stance on conducting fair and transparent elections.
