THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Edo State has described claims that it obstructed the inspection of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine and other materials used for the recent governorship election as baseless, misleading, and devoid of truth.
A statement by the resident electoral commissioner in the state, Anugbum Onuoha, on Wednesday, October 9, noted that the commission was committed to upholding the highest standards of transparency, fairness, and integrity of electoral processes.
The ICIR reports that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, on Monday, October 7, accused INEC of refusing access to the election materials, including the BVAS machine.
The party further alleged that the electoral body colluded with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to manipulate the data in the BVAS machines, results sheets, ballot papers, and other crucial information from the election to benefit the defeated APC candidate.
Recall that Ighodalo and the PDP had on September 29, 2024, secured a tribunal order instructing INEC to provide a complete inventory of all electoral materials in its possession for Ighodalo and the PDP’s review, along with the issuance of a “certified true copy” of those materials.
Responding to allegations of obstruction to those materials by INEC officials, Onuoha stated that the commission, in line with its commitment, had scheduled Wednesday for the inspection of the materials at its headquarters in Benin.
The statement read in part: “The attention of INEC and my office has been drawn to certain unfounded allegations suggesting that I have refused political parties and their representatives access to inspect the BVAS devices and other election materials used during the recent elections.
“We wish to categorically state that these allegations are baseless, misleading, and completely devoid of truth.
“(The) INEC under my leadership in Edo, remains committed to upholding the highest standards of transparency, fairness, and integrity of all electoral processes.”
Onuoha emphasised that inspecting election materials was a fundamental right for all political parties involved in the poll, highlighting that INEC was legally bound to facilitate the process.
According to him, INEC understands the legal implications of obstructing parties from inspecting materials, noting that it was committed to upholding the lawful procedures that allow parties to seek judicial redress.
“In furtherance of this commitment, I wish to inform the public that the inspection of the election materials, including the BVAS devices, has been formally scheduled for Wednesday (today), at the INEC headquarters in Benin.
“All political parties and their representatives are invited to participate in this exercise, as per the legal procedures, to ensure transparency and adherence to the rule of law, ” he added.
He further assured the political parties and their candidates that they would have unrestricted access, provided that they adhere to the procedures established by the election petition tribunal and applicable legal frameworks.
APC supporters storm INEC office
Meanwhile, on Monday, October 7, several supporters of the APC in the state stormed the INEC headquarters in Benin to protest an alleged scheme by the PDP to alter result sheets and other materials from the September 21 governorship election won by the APC candidate, Monday Ekpebholo.
The protest was led by the deputy governor-elect, Dennis Idahosa, joined by other demonstrators who blocked the entrance to the INEC office, creating a traffic jam in the area.
The protesters urged the commission to prevent tampering with the materials.
The ICIR reported that 17 political parties competed for votes in the poll, and three candidates – PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, APC’s Monday Okpebholo, and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) – led the race.
Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes to defeat his closest rival – Ighodalo – who won 247,274 votes.
The LP’s Akpata garnered 22,763 in the election to occupy a distant third position.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M