The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to review the collated results of the Edo State governorship election before making a final declaration.
Dr. Anthony Aziegbemi, the Edo State PDP Chairman, made this appeal during a press briefing in Benin on Sunday, alleging discrepancies between the results recorded by electoral officers and those uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) at polling units.
Aziegbemi claimed that the results had been manipulated to favor the All Progressives Congress (APC), accusing electoral officials of inflating APC votes while reducing those of the PDP.
He cited Akoko-Edo Local Government Area as an example, where the IREV results showed the APC garnered 25,010 votes, but the EC8C form, which contains the final declaration by the local government returning officer, recorded 34,847 votes for the APC. In contrast, the PDP’s IREV tally stood at 18,620 votes, but the EC8C reflected a reduced figure of 15,865 votes.
“In Ward 9, Akoko Edo LGA, the IREV results from 36 polling units showed the APC receiving 2,350 votes, but the EC8C inexplicably listed 9,104 votes for the APC. For the PDP, 1,359 votes were recorded on IREV, yet only 633 votes appeared on the EC8C,” Aziegbemi alleged.
He further alleged irregularities in Ward 6 of Akoko-Edo, where elections did not take place in polling units 12, 17, 15, 18, 14, and 16. However, results were still recorded for those units on the EC8C.
Similar concerns were raised in Egor Local Government Area, where the IREV results indicated that the APC obtained 10,972 votes, but the EC8C declared 16,760 votes for the party. The PDP’s IREV results showed 14,485 votes, while 14,658 were reflected on the EC8C.
“It is important to note that the collation for Egor was not conducted at the designated LGA center but was moved to the INEC state headquarters, where the PDP agent was denied access to the process,” Aziegbemi added.
He also pointed out discrepancies in Etsako West, where the IREV results significantly differed from those declared on the EC8C form by the returning officer.
Aziegbemi described these discrepancies as “scandalous and a blatant attempt to subvert the will of the people.” He called for an immediate re-collation of the actual results from polling units in the affected local government areas, in line with INEC guidelines.
“We demand the re-collation and accurate compilation of the results to reflect the true mandate of the people as prescribed by INEC regulations,” he concluded.
