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Tag: Edo polls

  • Edo polls: Obaseki loses LG to APC

    Edo polls: Obaseki loses LG to APC

    Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has failed to deliver his Oredo local government area for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Saturday’s governorship election.

    The All Progressives Congress polled 30,780 while the PDP got 24,938 votes in the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Read Also: LG Poll: APC reconciles aggrieved members in Akwa Ibom

    Winning election in Oredo has been a difficult task for Obaseki since he assumed power.

    In both 2020 and 2023 general elections, Obaseki failed to produce the House of Representatives lawmaker for Oredo federal constituency.

    He also failed to produce the Senator for Edo South senatorial district in both elections.

  • Edo polls: PDP’s supporters storm INEC office, allege manipulation of results

    Edo polls: PDP’s supporters storm INEC office, allege manipulation of results

    Supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State held a peaceful protest at the state headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), causing significant traffic congestion on the Benin-Abuja highway.

    Some protesters sat on the road while security forces maintained a barrier to the INEC office, which was heavily guarded in response to the demonstration.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) currently leads based on results from 17 local government areas, but protesters claimed that the announced results were manipulated, differing from those reported at the polling units.

    Read Also: Rivers crisis: Amaewhule accuses Fubara of defying constitution, court rulings

    One of the protesters, identified as Frank, called for President Bola Tinubu to intervene and investigate the situation.

    He said: “What we are saying is that we will not allow anyone to tamper with the wish of the Edo people. People have voted for our candidate (Igodalo) and some people want to use the power from above to turn the results upside down, we won’t accept it. No, we won’t.

    “We have the authentic results with us and the ones they announced are different, that means someone has tampered with the results, we will not take it.

    “We are appealing to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in this matter, some people should not burn our state.”

  • Edo polls: PDP cautions INEC against declaring result

    Edo polls: PDP cautions INEC against declaring result

    …calls for review of result

    The Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State has cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against announcing the results of the just concluded governorship election in the state.

    It called on the electoral body to review results being declared by its Local Government Returning Officers and the results uploaded on Irevs portal.

    Edo state chairman of the PDP, Tony Aziegbemi, who spoke at a press conference in Benin City, said preliminary findings showed massive irregularities, unjust inflation of APC votes, and deduction of PDP votes in the collation of results.

    Aziegbemi noted that the summation of figures on the form EC8C ought to be uploaded on the Irev portal.

    He said results announced by the LGA returning officer should tally with the uploaded figures.

    The Ondo PDP Chairman said the discrepancies occurred across the 18 local government areas in the state.

    He insisted: “Asue will be declared Governor after the anomalies have been cleared.

    “INEC should use the window to review the result before the announcement. If INEC does not do that, it will undermine the gains recorded under its current chairman.

    “You cannot have three different figures from the same election.

    “These anomalies happened across the 18 local government areas. It is in the interest of INEC not to declare the results until they go through the anomalies.

    “If the review affects us, so be it. We are not saying check only where APC won but across the board. It is our right to demand INEC to query the BVAS.

    “A simple collation of all the votes recorded in the polling unit results uploaded on the IREV shows that the APC obtained 25,010 votes while 34,847 votes were recorded in the EC8C declared by the LGA Returning Officer. While for the PDP, a collation of the votes from the results uploaded on the IREV is 18,620 but 15,865 was returned on the EC8C declared by the LGA Returning Officer.

    Read Also: LG Poll: APC reconciles aggrieved members in Akwa Ibom

    “It would interest you that in Ward 9 Akoko Edo LGA, from the 36 Polling Unit results uploaded on the IREV, the total votes obtained by APC is 2,350 while 9104 was entered into the EC8B result for APC. The total votes for PDP is 1359 while 633 were entered in the EC8B.

    “Also, in Ward 6 Akoko Edo LGA, where elections were not held in Ward 6 Units 12, 17, 15, 18, 14, and 16, results were returned for the said polling units in the Ward Result sheet (EC8B).

    “In Egor LG, a simple collation of all the votes recorded in the polling unit results uploaded on the IREV shows that the APC obtained 10,972 votes while 16,760 votes were recorded in the EC8C declared by the LGA Returning Officer. While for the PDP, a collation of the votes from the results uploaded on the IREV is 14,485 but 14,658 were returned on the EC8C declared by the LGA Returning Officer.

    “It would interest you to note that the collation of the Egor LGA was not done at the designated LGA centre but was moved to the INEC State HQ and the PDP agent was not allowed access to be part of the exercise.

    “A simple collation of all the votes recorded in the polling unit results uploaded on the IREV shows that the APC obtained 29,858 votes while 32,107 votes were recorded in the EC8C declared by the LGA Returning Officer. While for the PDP, a collation of the votes from the results uploaded on the IREV is 16,712 but 17,483 was returned on the EC8C declared by the LGA Returning Officer.

    “We therefore demand the immediate re-collation and recomputation of the actual results for the various polling units in the above highlighted local government areas in compliance with the INEC guidelines and regulations which mandate that votes from various units and wards be properly collated.”

  • Edo polls: APC deputy guber candidate Idahosa loses LG to PDP

    Edo polls: APC deputy guber candidate Idahosa loses LG to PDP

    The deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Hon Dennis Idahosa, lost his Ovia Southwest local government area to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Idahosa is the lawmaker representing the Ovia federal constituency in the House of Representatives.

    The APC got 10,150 votes while the PDP got 10,260 votes.

    Also, Omosede Igbinedion lost in Ovia northeast local government to the PDP.

    The PDP got 15,311 votes to defeat the APC which got 13,225.

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    It was predicted that the PDP would lose in both local government areas due to the recent defection of Barr. Igbinedion to the APC.

    Despite predictions suggesting a possible victory for the APC in both areas following Barr. Igbinedion’s recent defection, the PDP emerged victorious.

  • Edo polls: APC heads for Supreme Court

    The All Progressives Congress has filed an appeal before the Supreme over the ruling of the Court of Appeal on the recounting of ballot papers used for the September 28, governorship election.

    It is asking the apex court to set aside the Court of Appeal ruling on its cross appeal.

    The appeal before the Supreme Court is coming after the lower tribunal headed by Justice Ahmed Badamasi affirmed the election of Governor Godwin Obaseki and threw out the petition by Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and the Peoples Democratic Party.

    Before the judgment, the tribunal had granted the petitioners’ request for the recounting of the ballot papers used for the election in four of the 18 local councils in the state namely Egor, Etsako East, Etsako West and Akoko-Edo.

    Dismissing the cross appeal of the APC, the appellate court held that the decision of the elections tribunal was right as it was anchored on the provision of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) which prescribes the time allotted to each of the parties to prove their case.

    The Supreme Court has not fixed a date to hear the suit.

  • Edo polls: Court throws out Ize- Iyamu’s appeal on ballot recount

    THE Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City has thrown out an appeal filed by Pastor Osagie Ize- Iyamu and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) against the ruling of the tribunal on the recounting of ballot papers. Pastor Ize-Iyamu had asked the appellate court to order a complete recounting of used ballot papers from four local government areas produced before the lower tribunal.

    The four local government areas are Akoko-Edo, Egor, Estako West and Estako East. He contended that the tribunal erred when it stopped the recounting of the ballot papers once the 14 days given to the petitioners to present their case had lapsed. Pastor Ize-Iyamu also requested an order that the period utilized by the recounting be discounted from the the 14 days granted the petitioners to prove their case.

    He pleaded that the time be restored in order for him to call more witnesses. Delivering unanimous judgment on the appeal, Justice Mudasiru Nasiru, who read the lead judgment said he decided to take great caution not to go out of bound since the tribunal was yet to deliver judgment on the main petition.

  • Edo polls: Court throws out Ize-Iyamu appeal on ballot recount

    Edo polls: Court throws out Ize-Iyamu appeal on ballot recount

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Benin City has thrown out the appeal filed by Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and the Peoples Democratic Party against the ruling of the tribunal on the recounting of ballot papers.

    Pastor Ize-Iyamu had asked the appellate court to order a complete recounting of used ballot papers from four local government areas produced before the lower tribunal.

    The four local government areas are Akoko-Edo, Egor, Estako West and Estako East.

    He contended that the tribunal erred when it stopped the recounting of the ballot papers once the 14 days given to the petitioners to present their case have elapsed.

    Pastor Ize-Iyamu also requested an order that the period utilized by the recounting be discounted from the the 14 days granted the petitioners to prove their case.

    He pleaded that the time be restored in order for him to call more witnesses.

    Delivering the unanimous judgment on the appeal, Justice Mudasiru Nasiru who read the lead judgment said he decided to take great caution not to go out of bound since the tribunal was yet to deliver judgment on the main petition.

    Justice Nasiru held that paragraph 41 of First Schedule of the Electoral Act prescribed the time upon which petitioners and respondents were to prove and defend their case.

    He ruled that any action done outside the prescribed time would be a nullity and that the tribunal was right to stop the counting of ballot papers after the 14 days have elapsed.

    His words, “Whatever any party should do to prove its case must be done within the time produced by the Schedule. Once a party commences, the time prescribed will start to run”.

    “The two issues for determination are resolved against the appellants. The appeal is unmeritorious and lacked merit. It is hereby dismissed.”

    On the Cross Appeal filed by Governor Godwin Obaseki on the directive of the tribunal, the appellate court described it as being at cross purpose, premature and preemptive on the final matter.

    It held that dealing with the issue would entails going into the main issues yet to be determined by the tribunal.

    An appeal by the All Progressive Congress on whether the tribunal was right to order a recount of ballot papers was also struck out by the appellate court.

    The APC had sought an order that the tribunal wrongly exercised its decision on the recounting of ballot papers since it was made outside the pre-hearing.

    But Justice M. A Abumen who read the lead judgment said the order was properly made since the used ballot papers were produced as demanded by the petitioners.

  • Edo polls: PDP, Ize-Iyamu tender 2,531 forms EC8A

    Edo polls: PDP, Ize-Iyamu tender 2,531 forms EC8A

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the September 28 governorship election in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, yesterday tendered 2,531 forms EC8A as evidence before the State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.
    Forms EC8A are the units’ results of the 18 local government areas in the state.
    Ize-Iyamu, through his petition, is asking the tribunal to declare him winner of the election.
    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Godwin Obaseki, winner with 319,483 votes as against 253,173 votes Pastor Ize-Iyamu polled.
    At the resumption of hearing yesterday, lawyer to the petitioners, Mr. Yusuf Ali (SAN), told the tribunal that the petitioners had 2,531 copies of form EC8A for the 18 local governments.
    He said they would be tendered with voters’ registers for two of the 18 local governments.
    Ali said voters’ registers for the remaining 16 local governments had not been sorted out by both parties.
    The lawyer requested the tribunal to grant the parties two days to sort out the voters’ registers for the remaining 16 local governments.
    As at press time yesterday, forms EC8A for six local governments had been tendered, admitted as evidence and marked exhibits by the tribunal.
    The six local governments are: Akoko-Edo with 142 copies, Egor (170), Etsako Central (78), Igueben (46), Etsako East (78) and Etsako West (126).
    The tribunal adjourned sitting till January 19 to enable the parties sort out voters’ registers for the remaining 16 local governments.

  • Edo polls: INEC explains delay in inspection of materials

    Edo polls: INEC explains delay in inspection of materials

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has blamed financial constraints for the delay in the inspection and scanning of materials used in the September 28 governorship election in Edo State.
    The commission said there was no budgetary provision to pay its workers’ overtime allowance, especially on Saturdays.
    INEC’s lawyer Onyinye Anumonye spoke in Benin, the state capital, at the State Election Petitions Tribunal on the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.
    The PDP candidate is praying the tribunal to declare him winner of the election in which Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared winner with 319,483 votes.
    Anumonye spoke while objecting to a PDP application praying the court to vary its order made about three months ago on the inspection of electoral materials.
    He said: “In urging the Lord to refuse the application and in moving forward, the counter-affidavit filed, we made out a case of hardship, which the first respondent (INEC) occasioned, particularly in respect to financial constraints in terms of the part of the commission working overtime in view of the tenure of the prayers contained in the application.
    “In their (PDP) address of citing cases, the petitioner questioned if hardship would be a ground for refusal of such application. But our submission is that if any party occasioned hardship, then, my Lord will be duty-bound to refuse the application.
    “We urge our Lords to be persuaded by the submissions we have made in our written address.”
    PDP’s lawyer Kemi Pinheiro said INEC was conniving with APC agents and Obaseki to frustrate the inspection and scanning of the electoral materials by the petitioners.
    Pinheiro said they have succeeded in scanning election materials of on local government since the order was given last year.
    Obaseki’s lawyer, Ken Mozia (SAN), urged the tribunal to dismiss the application for alleged inconsistency.

  • Edo polls: YDP seeks new panel to hear petition

    The Young Democratic Party (YDP) has filed a suit at the Court of Appeal in Benin, Edo State capital, on the ruling of the Election Petitions Tribunal, which threw out its petition for abuse of court process.

    Among other reliefs, it asked for an order directing an accelerated hearing of its petition before a new panel.

    The three-man panel, led by Justice Ahmed Badamasi, described the YDP petition as an “abandoned petition” because the petitioners failed to abide by Paragraph 18 of the First Schedule of the Electoral Act.

    YDP’s candidate Nurudeen Inwanfero asked for cancellation of the September 28 governorship election because the party’s logo was not included in the ballot papers.

    The party, in the appeal, prayed the appellate court to set aside the December 8 decision of the tribunal, which struck out the Notice of Discontinuance filed on the petition.

    A statement by YDP’s Acting Publicity Secretary Eromosele Godwill said the party also asked the appellate court to set aside the decision of the tribunal, which struck out the petition as an abuse of court process.

    Eromosele said the party prayed for an order restoring the petition on the cause list of the Election Petitions Tribunal.