THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum has urged residents of Edo state to disregard allegations by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that its members usurped the responsibilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by announcing some Edo State governorship election results uploaded on the commission’s IReV.

The forum stated this in a press statement signed by the Bauchi State governor and the forum chairman, Bala Mohammed, on Sunday, September 22.

The forum said it was satisfied with the work done by its members to ensure that any activity to disrupt the poll results collation was averted.

“We are satisfied that our colleagues as led by His Excellency Governor Ahmadu Fintiri simply stated the results of a few local government areas as were already collated and captured on the INEC IREV portal, with a view to forestalling any manipulation by unscrupulous elements and ultimately averting a situation that could throw the exercise into disrepute and the nation into political jeopardy.

“Therefore, the public is advised to disregard the mischievous accusation by the APC that anyone usurped INEC’s responsibility, let alone distinguished Nigerians who are governors in their respective states,” he stated in parts of the statement.

The forum further urged INEC to live up to its constitutional responsibility and respect the wishes of the people of Edo State as they await the final result of the election.

“As the process runs its course, we wish to remind the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of the need to live up to the oath of office of the commission’s principal officers and the expectations of the people, to serve as an impartial umpire committed to deepening our multi-party democracy and the survival of our country.

“As the country perches on the horns of grave economic and security challenges, it is our expectation that INEC and everyone involved in the Edo governorship elections will respect the sovereign wishes of the people of Edo State and spare the nation the unpredictable consequences of a disputed result at this time,” he added.

On Saturday, September 21, the off-cycle governorship election was held in Edo state.

The ICIR reports that the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR) said it observed widespread vote buying during the election.

Meanwhile, as of 3 pm of Sunday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) was leading with over 48,000 votes in results from 16 local government areas (LGAs) out of the state’s 18 LGAs.

The ICIR reports that the APC has won 10 out of the 16 local government areas (LGAs) declared by INEC.