In a dramatic turn of events during the ongoing collation of the 2024 Edo State Governorship election results, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the results from Egor and Akoko Edo Local Government Areas (LGAs)......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
The results, which were in favor of the All Progressives Congress (APC), have been met with strong opposition from the PDP, citing allegations of irregularities and manipulation.
Allegations of irregularities, collation center relocation
Osagbovo Iyoha, the PDP agent, expressed his party’s dissatisfaction with the collation process, particularly concerning the results from Egor LGA.
Iyoha alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had “manufactured” the results in favor of the APC, Vanguard reported.
He also claimed that the collation center had been moved from the designated council headquarters to an undisclosed location, further casting doubt on the integrity of the process, Daily Trust reported.
Iyoha stated:
“We won Egor Local Government, but the APC was declared the winner. Our agents were locked out of the collation center, leaving only the APC agents to oversee the process. This is not acceptable.”
PDP claims vote discrepancies in Akoko Edo
The PDP agent also raised concerns about the results from Akoko Edo LGA, alleging that the number of votes cast exceeded those captured by the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). According to Iyoha, this discrepancy suggests that the results were manipulated in favor of the APC.
Iyoha asserted:
“The result from Akoko Edo was clearly manufactured. The votes declared are more than what was recorded by BVAS. This is a clear case of electoral malpractice.”
APC defends election results
In response to the allegations, Jarret Tenabe, the acting chairman of the APC, dismissed the PDP’s claims, stating that the election results were a true reflection of the will of the people.
He emphasized that all issues raised during the collation process were adequately addressed and that the final results were consistent with the data captured by BVAS.
Tenabe remarked:
“The votes declared in Akoko Edo and Egor are accurate and reflect the choice of the electorate.
“The PDP’s allegations are baseless and an attempt to undermine the credibility of the electoral process.”