Asue Ighodalo, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Edo State governorship election, has described the election as potentially the worst in Nigeria’s history, citing numerous alleged irregularities.
Speaking during a live press conference on Sunday, organised by the Edo PDP National Campaign Council and led by Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, Ighodalo expressed deep concerns over the election’s integrity.
He detailed several instances of electoral infractions across various polling units, particularly focusing on manipulations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Ighodalo pointed out significant discrepancies, notably in polling units in Ikpoba/Okha Ologbo, where accredited voters were recorded as zero despite results being announced.
“The way this election is going, it is set to be the worst election in the history of this country,” Ighodalo stated.
He highlighted one instance where “the figure for accredited voters was nil, but the results claimed the APC had 227 votes, while the PDP had 103”.
“How is that even possible?” he asked.
He further elaborated on other irregularities in the same region, mentioning that in another polling unit, the number of accredited voters was 156, yet the APC was declared to have won 2,110 votes, while the PDP only received 57 votes, with no votes recorded for the Labour Party.
Governor Fintiri echoed Ighodalo’s concerns, revealing that PDP agents were denied access to collation centres, which raised further doubts about the election’s transparency.
He called on INEC to adhere to its own regulations, stating, “What we’re asking from INEC is to follow their rules.”
“REC has no business to announce results or move collation to INEC headquarters. This is our stand and we will go back to consult,” he said.
