On Wednesday, a group of Edo State residents gathered at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Benin City, demanding the restoration of what they claim is the rightful victory of their preferred candidate, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The protesters, carrying placards with messages like "Dr. Asue Ighodalo, the governor-elect we know" and "Edo PDP won the election, but INEC and police colluded to change it," voiced their dissatisfaction with the recent election results in the state.
Chanting solidarity songs, the crowd, which included supporters from various local government areas, accused INEC of mismanaging the election results. They called for immediate action to address what they described as electoral injustice.
On September 22, the All-Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, was declared the winner of the governorship election, defeating his main rivals, Ighodalo and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party. However, the PDP rejected the outcome, claiming that INEC violated the Electoral Act and insisting that Ighodalo had actually won the election.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, stated that the party’s polling agents had evidence of Ighodalo's lead. The party further backed Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, who chaired the Edo PDP National Campaign Council and echoed the claim that Ighodalo had a clear lead before the results were allegedly manipulated.
The PDP declared, “The People's Democratic Party stands by the results of the Edo State Governorship election as recorded by its polling agents across the state. The rush and aggression with which the APC attacked Governor Fintiri only further exposes their desperation to cover up their manipulation and steal the mandate freely given to Dr. Asue Ighodalo by the people of Edo State, as reflected in the genuine votes cast at the polling units.”
The PDP has called for an investigation into what they allege was blatant alteration and substitution of genuine results by the APC in collaboration with certain INEC officials and security personnel.
