The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the results of the Edo State governorship election held on Saturday, citing widespread rigging.
At a press conference on Monday, PDP’s Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, vowed that the party would pursue all legal and democratic avenues to reclaim what he called the “stolen mandate” of its candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
Damagum urged the people of Edo State to remain steadfast, as the party takes “firm and legal steps” to recover the mandate, hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo, the winner of the closely contested election.
INEC announced that Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, Ighodalo received 247,274, while Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) garnered 22,763 votes.
The PDP, however, accused the APC of colluding with state agencies to manipulate the election in its favor.
“Our democracy is under threat,” Damagum said, accusing the APC of orchestrating an election “blatantly compromised” in collaboration with “unpatriotic security forces” and INEC officials, who he alleged “trampled on the people’s votes.”
Damagum recalled that the PDP had previously warned of an alleged plot by the APC to subvert the election, accusing high-ranking officials, including AIG Zone 7 Benneth Igwe and Edo State Commissioner of Police CP Nemo Edwin-Iwo, of involvement. He also criticized the appointment of Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, an alleged APC supporter, as the Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC).
The PDP chairman said repeated calls for the redeployment of these officials and the release of arrested PDP supporters were ignored, reinforcing suspicions of a conspiracy to rig the election.
Damagum further claimed that despite the violence and manipulation, polling unit results showed that Ighodalo won the election before the figures were altered in favor of the APC during the state collation process.
The PDP, therefore, “unequivocally rejects” INEC’s final results, arguing they do not meet democratic standards and fail to reflect the will of the people as outlined in the Electoral Act of 2022 and INEC guidelines.
The party has called on INEC to review the election within the timeframe specified by Section 65 of the Electoral Act and to declare results based solely on the actual votes cast at the polling units.