Tag: #EdoDecides

…demands special review by INEC

Shocked by the outcome of the Edo State governorship election, in which its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, was defeated, the acting national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar Ilyas Damagum, has announced the party’s firm rejection of the results.

During a press conference in Abuja on Monday, September 23, Damagum called for a comprehensive review of all the results from polling units and collation centres across Edo state.

He said: “The PDP therefore unequivocally rejects the final result of the Edo State Governorship election as declared by INEC as it did not meet the minimum standard for democracy having not reflected the expressed Will and aspiration of the people in line with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 and INEC Guidelines for State Governorship election.

“The PDP demands that INEC within the time stipulated by Section 65 of the Electoral Act, 2022 review the Edo State governorship election and announce results only as obtained from the genuine votes cast at the Polling Units,” Damagum remarked.

Although he gave proof of how he concluded, Damagum asserted that he and many others are very certain that the election was rigged against the PDP governorship candidate.

“As Nigerians already know, despite the violence, intimidation and manipulations by the APC, results obtained from the Polling Units show that our candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo clearly won the election before the figures were altered at the State collation exercise in favour of the defeated APC candidate,” he said.

He also hinted that while the PDP may not have much hope in the judiciary, the party is likely to head to the courts and test its continued relevance as the last bastion of hope.

“In this election, we shall still put to test once again the level of the preparedness of the judiciary to do justice where it is required.

“We cannot overrule a situation whereby justice will be dispensed but the most important thing is that we shall put them to more scrutiny before the eyes of Nigerians because they say that when the judicial system does not work, then you don’t have a country; I don’t know if we will still have a country,” he stated.

Pointing out that he was speaking out of deep concern for Nigeria’s democracy and political stability, he repeatedly remarked that the Edo State governorship election was outrightly manipulated.

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“From unfolding political events in the country, the latest being the brazen rigging of the Saturday, September 21, 2024, Edo state governorship election by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in connivance with government-controlled agencies, it is clear that our democracy is under threat.

“As you know and widely reported in all segments of the media, the 2024 Edo State Governorship election was barefacedly compromised by the APC in collusion with unpatriotic security operatives and heavily procured officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who viciously trampled on the votes of the people in defiance of the Law and total disregard to the Sovereign Will of the people of Edo State.

“You may recall that the PDP had on several occasions alerted of this sinister plot by the APC to subvert the election, the roles allegedly being played by AIG Zone 7, Benneth Igwe and Edo State Commissioner of Police CP Nemo Edwin-Iwo and the appointment of a known APC apologist and supporter, Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, as the Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC).

“Several demands by our Party for the redeployment of these officials as well as the release of all arrested PDP members and supporters fell on deaf ears and tend to validate PDP’s suspicion of a top-level conspiracy to rig the Edo State governorship election.

“Nigerians and the world watched in horror as the APC-compromised security operatives and thugs unleashed terror, harassed, arrested and detained PDP members and supporters, foisted siege mentality on the people and paved the way for APC agents and procured INEC officials to manipulate the ballot process, substitute genuine results from the Polling Units with fictitious figures and transferred the victory won by our candidate, Asue Ighodalo to the defeated APC candidate, Monday Okpebholo.

“As Nigerians already know, despite the violence, intimidation, and manipulations by the APC, results obtained from the Polling Units show that our candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo clearly won the election before the figures were altered at the State collation exercise in favour of the defeated APC candidate, Ambassador Damagum stated.

Leaders of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State clashed in Benin on Sunday, August 18, over allegations of harassment, unlawful arrests, and detention of party members.

During a news conference at the PDP state secretariat on Airport Road, Benin, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, Director-General of the Asue/Ogie Campaign Management Council, accused policemen from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) in Abuja of indiscriminately arresting and detaining PDP chieftains across Edo’s three senatorial districts.

He further alleged that the police actions were orchestrated by APC leaders, who purportedly paid large sums of money to facilitate the arrests.

Iduoriyekemwen said: “The police officers have been operating outside the scope of their job, carrying AK-47 rifles and other dangerous weapons, and moving around Edo State in Hummer buses and Hilux vans, to harass and abduct our party chieftains across the state.

“It is rather unfortunate that while the PDP members are diligently working, moving from ward to ward and local government to local government, actively campaigning across various platforms, articulating their programmes and initiatives for the people of Edo State, the APC is attempting to weaponise the police against the people because they know they have a defective and unmarketable candidate and cannot win under any circumstance in a free, fair and credible election. Their only strategy is to use what they term federal might to harass and intimidate opposition parties into submission in their quest to secure electoral victory through subterfuge.

“It is pertinent to note that the days in which political parties win elections by wanton intimidation are far gone, and Edo people are going to stand firm in resistance to any form of harassment and intimidation by any group or persons, no matter how highly placed.

“We believe that this devious resort to harassment and intimidation is a recipe for anarchy and we are calling on the Inspector-General of Police; AIG, Zone 5; Edo State Commissioner of Police, and other security agencies to step in and stop these harassments and intimidation by these suspected band of APC police operatives believed to be on illegal duty, to prevent a descent to anarchy in the state.”

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PDP’s director-general also called on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), other stakeholders and the international community to turn their attention to Edo state and take note of the rather disturbing pattern of harassment and intimidation.

The director of publicity, Edo APC governorship campaign council, Comrade Orobosa Omo-Ojo, however, maintained that nobody was harassing the leaders of PDP in Edo, but declared that the indicted members of the party (PDP) should face prosecution for murder, treason, and other criminal activities.

Omo-Ojo said: “PDP in Edo State has become a huge embarrassment to itself, with its unrelenting media attack on the Nigeria Police Force, and other security agencies in the country.

“PDP’s leaders have abandoned the governorship campaigns to concentrate on mischievous propaganda to cover up their failure to articulate campaign strategy, which has become obvious with their dwindling members.

“APC members in Edo have been under intense violent attacks from the state-sponsored Edo State Security Network (ESSN) and the Public Work Volunteers (PUWOV), as the groups planned and murdered Police Inspector Onuh Akoh, the security aide to the governorship candidate of APC, Senator Monday Okpebholo in cold blood, at the Benin Airport’s exit gate on July 18, 2024.

“A chieftain of PDP, Prince Emmanuel Origin, was on national television calling on the Nigerian Army to sack the democratically-elected Federal Government of Nigeria, and told Nigerians that he was present at a meeting where members of the Presidency, including Vice President, Kashim Shettima; Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; and Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; perfected plans with some notable APC leaders in Edo State to rig the September 21 governorship election in Edo State, while President Tinubu would be on a disguised trip out of the country. These are obvious infractions of the law that need thorough investigation.”

The director of publicity, Edo APC governorship campaign council also reiterated that PDP’s Governor Godwin Obaseki escalated the violence in the state with his threat that Nigeria would burn, if the police went ahead to arrest the people that murdered Akoh, of No. 45, Police Mobile Force, Abuja.

Omo-Ojo called on the leadership of PDP to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies in the investigation of the various crimes that were committed by members of the party, while asking Obaseki to summarily disband the ESSN and PUWOV, as a sign of his party’s readiness for a peaceful election.

The newly-appointed Edo Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Moses Yamu, a Superintendent of Police (SP), was contacted for his reaction, but he promised to get back to our reporter, but he had not done so, at press time.