Atedo Peterside, the founder of Stanbic IBTC and Anap Foundation, has shared alleged manipulated results from the just concluded Edo gubernatorial election on his X account, saying that all right-thinking Nigerians must challenge the outcome of the poll.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday declared Monday Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of Saturday’s gubernatorial election.
Okpebholo, who represents Edo Central in the Senate, won 11 out of 18 local government areas in the state, securing 291,667 votes to defeat other 16 contenders in the election which has been disputed by the opposition and observers.
Ighodalo of the PDP won seven local government councils, garnering 247,274 votes to become the runner up. Labour Party (LP)’s Olumide Akpata is in a distant third with just 22,763 votes.
In four different results posted by Peterside, the APC won, securing more votes than the number of accredited voters.
In one of the manipulated results obtained from INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV), 213 voters were accredited while the APC got 352 votes. 52 votes were recorded for the PDP in the polling unit located at Osholo Primary School, Osholo in Etsako East LGA.
Another result from the same local government showed that the APC secured 377 votes, which is more than 275 accredited voters at the polling unit.
Other results where APC won also showed 98.5% voter turnout at the polling units, despite 22.2% turnout recorded across the state on Election Day.
Reacting to the development, Peterside said, “Edo Governorship Elections; In sample Polling Unit results from @inecnigeria IREV shown below, @OfficialAPCNg recorded more votes than total no. of accredited voters or they achieved over 98.5% voter turnout versus a State-wide turnout of 22.2%. @Aighodalo @OfficialPDPNig & all right-thinking Nigerians must challenge this #EdoDecides2024.”
Ighodalo, the PDP candidate, had earlier expressed his disappointment in the conduct of the election, describing it as the “worst in the history of the country.”
“You see results being thrown up, where the total result is much more than the total number of accredited voters,” the first runner up said in an interview with BBC.
Also, Yiaga Africa, a civil society organisation (CSO), has said that the election failed the integrity test.
The observer group said the election collation process was marred by inconsistencies which suggest a manipulation of the vote.
“Based on reports from 287 of 300 (96%) sampled polling units, Yiaga Africa’s statistical analysis shows inconsistencies in the official results announced by INEC,” a statement signed by Samson Itodo, Yiaga’s executive director; and Aisha Abdullahi, chairperson of the 2024 Edo election mission reads in part.
Courtesy, BusinessDay
