The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has outrightly rejected the declaration of Monday Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Edo State Governorship election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the result late Sunday night, sparking widespread controversy.
According to the figures released by INEC, Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, defeating PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes. Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata placed third with 22,763 votes. Of the 18 local government areas in the state, the APC won 10, while the PDP triumphed in eight. However, the PDP insists that Ighodalo was the legitimate winner of the election.
Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, who chaired the PDP’s National Campaign Council for the election, strongly condemned the results, asserting that INEC violated electoral laws.
“The electoral umpire must be held responsible for the breach of the Electoral Act,” Fintiri declared. He further presented evidence from polling units, which he claimed showed Ighodalo in the lead before the collation process was allegedly compromised.
Debo Ologunagba, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, echoed Fintiri’s sentiments in a press release on Sunday, saying, “The Peoples Democratic Party stands by the results gathered by its polling agents across the state. These results clearly indicate that our candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, won the election.”
The party accused the APC of colluding with INEC officials and security personnel to manipulate the collation process. “The venomous attacks on Governor Fintiri by the APC only reveal the party’s desperation to cover up its manipulation and subvert the will of the Edo people,” Ologunagba added.
The PDP Governors Forum, led by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, also weighed in, urging INEC to uphold the integrity of the electoral process. The forum called on the commission to announce results that reflect the true wishes of Edo voters, warning that any attempt to undermine democracy could have severe consequences. “As the country grapples with serious economic and security challenges, it is crucial that the electoral umpire respects the will of the people and prevents any further strain on the nation,” the forum stated.
Meanwhile, at the INEC collation centre, PDP state agent Iyoha Osaigbovo expressed dissatisfaction with the figures attributed to the APC. “These results are not a true reflection of the people’s will. The figures were clearly manufactured to favour the APC,” Osaigbovo stated.
On the other hand, acting APC chairman in Edo State, Jarrett Tenebe, dismissed Osaigbovo’s allegations, expressing satisfaction with the results. He pointed out that Edo North, a known APC stronghold, played a significant role in securing Okpebholo’s victory. “I would urge the PDP to direct their grievances to the collation process and stop blaming the APC for their loss,” Tenebe remarked.
The PDP, however, escalated its protest, with its Edo State Chairman, Tony Aziegbemi, addressing a formal complaint to the INEC Chairman in Abuja. In a letter titled *‘Protest Against Falsified Vote Entries and Inflation of APC Votes in the Edo State Governorship Election,’* Aziegbemi outlined several instances where votes were allegedly manipulated in favor of the APC. He highlighted discrepancies in Akoko Edo, Egor, and Etsako West Local Government Areas, where he claimed votes recorded on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) did not match the figures declared by electoral officers.
“In Akoko Edo LGA, a simple collation of results from the IREV shows that the APC obtained 25,010 votes, while 34,847 votes were declared by the LGA Returning Officer. Similarly, for the PDP, the IREV shows 18,620 votes, but only 15,865 votes were recorded in the official results,” Aziegbemi stated.
He also noted that in Egor and Etsako West, votes were allegedly inflated to favor the APC, adding that the collation for Egor was not conducted at the designated center but was moved to the INEC state headquarters, where PDP agents were denied access.
The Labour Party, through its Public Relations Officer, Sam Uruopa, stated that the party was still reviewing the results and would issue an official statement afterward.
However, Uruopa criticized the integrity of the electoral process, saying, “It is disheartening that voters were induced with money, which casts a shadow on the credibility of the election.”
