Featured, Politics
By Anthony Isibor
WITH the announcement of the results of the Edo State governorship election, major contenders in the poll; the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the All Progressive Party, APC, and the Labour Party, LP, have expressed diverse opinions on the outcome of the poll as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The election ended with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC declaring Monday Okpebholo, candidate of the APC as the winner of the September 21 governorship poll with 291,667 votes against his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes.
Reacting to the outcome of the poll, President Bola Tinubu, the Southern Nigeria Senators Forum and Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, national chairman of the APC, have congratulated Senator Monday Okpebholo, describing it as a well-deserved victory. They commended the electorate in Edo State for electing one of their members as governor of the State on Saturday, saying that the election of Senator Okpebholo will usher progress and development for the people of Edo State.
In his remarks, President Tinubu said on Monday that the victory testified to the people’s support for the ruling party, its progressive ideals, its economic re-engineering programme and its commitment to improving the lives of Nigerians.
He urges Senator Okpebholo not to gloat over his victory, but to see it as a challenging call to service. He encourages him to demonstrate magnanimity by reaching out to his political rivals and uniting the people of Edo State to ensure its development, even as he commended APC national leaders, Edo State leaders and party governors for working hard to achieve victory.
Similarly, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the national chairman of the APC, in a statement signed by his chief press secretary, Edwin Olofu, said the triumph was a testament to the confidence the good people of Edo State have in the progressive vision and leadership of President Bola Tinubu-led APC administration.
He promised that Okpebholo would continue to uphold the values of good governance, transparency, and service to the people which have been the bedrock of the APC’s vision for Nigeria.
Also, the Southern Nigeria Senators Forum in a statement issued by the Chairman of the Forum, Senator Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru, on Monday, maintained that the governor-elect has track record of achievements and his understanding of challenges confronting Edo State would make him reposition the State in the interest of the people.
Meanwhile, the PDP has kicked against the result.
The Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, who is the Chairman, Edo State Governorship Election National Campaign Council, on Sunday, stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission should be held accountable for violating the Electoral Act.
He described the outcome of the election as shameful.
Condemning the outcome of the exercise on Sunday, Fintiri said he wept for Nigeria’s democracy.
“I weep for Nigeria’s democracy after witnessing the shameful Edo Gubernatorial poll. The APC’s desperate attempts to discredit me by falsely claiming I announced results won’t distract from the real issue. I merely shared results from INEC’s IREV portal, as collated by INEC from the various Local Government Areas,” Fintiri said.
“What’s truly shameful is APC’s national chairman flying into Edo with a private jet on election day, defying movement restrictions, while their Governors used armored escorts to intimidate voters.
“This blatant disregard for democratic norms is the real brigandage. Nigerians are outraged, slamming INEC for compromising and favouring APC. The reported vote-buying, disruption of collation processes, and suspicious results with more votes than accredited voters undermine trust in our democracy. Democracy indeed is under attack.
“We must condemn this rape of democracy and demand accountability. The world is watching, and Nigeria deserves better.”
Adding his voice to the development, Frank Tietie, a lawyer and political analyst said on Arise news programme on Monday that what has happened in the Edo state election was not new .
According to him, what Nigeria expects is a situation where INEC cannot be faulted because the process was so clear, transparent and full proof to the extent that even those who lose will congratulate those who win. “But that is not the case in Edo state right now,” he said.
He, however, commended the state governor for his statement, which has doused the tension in the state, while urging the winners not to celebrate too much so that the polarization and tension could reduce further.
In a turn of events, Ralf Obasegie, a Labour Party Chieftain, accused both the PDP and the APC of vote buying.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily on Channels TV on Monday, he revealed that there was nothing fair about the election, describing it as a shambolic exercise.
He explained that the scuffle between the PDP and APC agents and coordinators at his polling unit until they reached a truce that allowed voting to continue proved his assertion.
Although the LP candidate, Olumide Akpata, came third with 22, 763 votes, Obasegie, said that there was no election.
“I would like to let you know that it was a sad episode, there was no election, there was no security personnel, and as at the time I got there by 7 am, the ballot box was already half full. And I asked when did these people vote because voting was supposed to start at about 8 or 9 AM, there was no answer. And when the voting started, I now saw all the manipulations that were going on.
“Initially, they were paying N5,000, but when APC was paying N5000, PDP upped theirs to N10,000. And here we were at the Labour Party, we didn’t have those resources; stolen state funds to be funding elections.
Corroborating Obasegie’s assertion of vote buying, Kelly Ogbalo, Chairman of the Labour Party, LP, in Edo State, alleged that the party would have won the governorship election if it were free and fair.
Ogbalo told newsmen in Benin, the state capital, on Monday that the election was marred by irregularities, including open vote-buying that the security agencies failed to check.
And to douse the tension in the state, the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, appealed to residents to remain calm over the outcome of the election as announced by INEC on Sunday.
The governor, who was reacting to the result announced by INEC, said in a broadcast that the election was marred with disregard to the processes and rule of law and urged aggrieved persons to explore the legal options to express their reactions.
According to him, in the last few months, the various political parties had embarked on very rigorous campaigns to sell their respective candidates for the office of governor to the people of Edo State in an exercise which came to a climax yesterday with the gubernatorial election.
“The attractive thing about democracy is the power it bestows on the people to choose who governs them. Therefore, when this power is blatantly seized from the people, it is not just a tragedy, but a travesty of democracy.
“Regrettably, the outcome of the September 21st governorship election appears to have daunted the spirit of many Edo people who feel powerless in the face of the brute force of the institutions that are supposed to protect them. It is therefore understandable that many people feel sad and aggrieved.
“But in the midst of this despair, I am urging all my fellow Edo citizens to maintain calm and not resort to violence and destruction of property in spite of this provocation.
“Peace and justice will always win at the end and this is my prescription to all the good people of Edo State, who feel vexed and violated at this time.
“Clearly, it is obvious to the least discerning, the amount of impunity and reckless disregard for processes and law that was displayed in this gubernatorial election
“In a democracy, there are safeguards for addressing grievances, and we hope that those affected will seek resolution for this blatant disregard of law and process.
“With this in mind, I implore all Edo people to go about their lawful businesses and rest assured of the commitment of our government to your wellbeing and security,” he added.
A.I
Sept. 23, 2024
Tags: Abdullahi Umar Ganduje Edwin Olofu Independent National Electoral Commission INEC. Monday Okpebholo President Bola Tinubu
