PDP Governors Condemn Interruption of Collation Process
Edo Governorship Election Marred by Controversy
Governor Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State, chairman of the National Campaign Council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Edo State governorship election, has demanded the immediate restoration of the collation process.
Allegations of Irregularities
Governor Fintiri spoke on behalf of other PDP Governors while addressing journalists at the Edo Gubernatorial Election Situation Room located at the Government House, Benin City, on Sunday morning. He noted that:
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The collation process was violently interrupted in several local government areas across the State.
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In Edo South, local government collation processes were stopped in Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha, and Egor and moved illegally to the State Headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Benin on the instructions of an Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in complete breach of the statutory collation process.
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Affected Party Agents and representatives were then ordered to converge on the INEC State Headquarters in Aduwawa, Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area for the completion of the collation exercise.
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Upon arrival, agents of the PDP were not allowed into INEC State Office for the exercise.
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On the other hand, agents of the APC were allowed unfettered access into the INEC premises to participate in the collation process.
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At about 9 pm senior party officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) accompanied by the police stormed the Etsako West Local Government collation center and began shooting indiscriminately.
PDP’s Collated Results from 12 Local Government Areas
The Governor announced the collated election results in their possession at the point of the alleged truncation of the collation exercise:
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Esan Central: APC – 8,618, PDP – 10,990
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Esan North East: APC – 10,648, PDP – 12,522
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Esan South East: APC – 8,398, PDP – 14,199
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Esan West: APC – 12,952, PDP – 11,004
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Igueben: APC – 8,407, PDP – 8,470
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Etsako Central: APC – 10,990, PDP – 8,618
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Orhionmwon: APC – 16,059, PDP – 16,614
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Ovia North East: APC – 13,225, PDP – 15,311
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Ovia South West: APC – 10,150, PDP – 10,260
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Owan West: APC – 12,277, PDP – 11,284
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Owan East: APC – 19,380, PDP – 14,189
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Uhumwonde: APC – 8,673, PDP – 9,339
PDP’s Demand for Transparency
Governor Fintiri called for the restoration of the collation process in accordance with the Electoral Act and INEC rules and regulations.
Consequences of Inaction
Fintiri warned that allowing the alleged illegality to stand would be a violation of the will of the people and an abuse of the Electoral Act 2022. He added that if the alleged illegality was allowed to stand, it will be one of the worst elections in the history of democratic governance in Nigeria, alleging that the exercise was characterized with ‘massive vote writing’ and intimidation by security agencies.
