
Candidates of five out of the 19 political parties that contested Wednesday’s Edo state governorship election have called for the cancellation of the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
At a press conference in Benin City the state capital on Saturday, Chairman of the Inter-party Advisory Council , IPAC, Frank Ukonga, who also participated in the election under the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, alleged that INEC falsified the results to favor the APC.
He said that the figures INEC officials read and displayed on national television were in total variance with the ones their own agents and observers obtained from the polling units across the state.
“The results that INEC made public do not tally with what most if not all our agents came back home with.
“We are calling for the cancellation of the entire election because INEC gave APC the PDP votes,” Ukonga said.
Andrew Igwemoh, candidate of the Advanced Congress of Democrats, ACD, said there were glaring errors in the figures computed by INEC, adding that the entire process was characterised by open exchange of money between party agents and voters.
“I am calling for the cancellation of the results especially that of Etsako West local government because what transpired on the field is not what INEC made public. The mathematical errors are too obvious to be ignored” he said.
Another candidate, Omorogieva Gbajumo, of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, said Nigerians are still wondering how INEC came up with about 66, 000 missing votes whereas voters voted soon as they were accredited.
He said: “It is clear that the votes declared by INEC are not correct. Even parties which were not on the ballot were allocated some votes by the electoral empire which shows that something does not add up”.
He said that INEC should not have used only lecturers from the Federal University in Ekiti state as collation officers, since their Vice-chancellor has already be chosen as the Chief Returning Officer, and they may be obliged to do his bidding.
Thompson Osadolor of Kowa Party on his part claimed that since accreditation and voting was done simultaneously, and the election was adjudged generally peaceful across the state, INEC had no business cancelling any ballot.
“It is a shame on INEC and it should do the needful by ensuring that the voice of Edo people which was loud and clear on September 28 is reflected by declaring the true results of the elections”.
In the opinion of Ishaka Paul of the Action Alliance, AA, “INEC Is not telling the truth. I can say the results that gave victory to another party rather than the PDP is a replay of a rehearsed template because there is nothing to link the results from the field with that which INEC gave”.
The 5 candidates said they would continue to call for the cancellation of the election so that the will of Edo people will be upheld and Nigeria’s nascent democracy may be enhanced.