Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the ongoing Edo governorship election, has raised concerns about the credibility of the process, labeling it as potentially the “worst election in the history of this country.” During a press conference at the PDP Situation Room in Benin City, Ighodalo pointed out several irregularities, including reports of polling units where the total votes exceeded the number of accredited voters.
“We have information for instance, where we have over 20 polling units where the accredited voters are less than the total votes, which is not possible,” Ighodalo said. “The total votes that they’ve now announced are more than the accredited voters,” he added, calling the situation “totally unacceptable.”
Ighodalo also claimed that PDP agents were barred from entering the collation center, which he said undermines the integrity of Nigeria’s democracy. “This process is unacceptable, and then they’re trying to disenfranchise our collation agents,” he said.
Furthermore, he accused thugs, supported by individuals disguised as security agents, of disrupting polling stations and threatening party agents. “At every point, you find APC and their thugs, supported by people dressed as security agents, going to shoot at polling agents and disrupt processes,” he alleged. “This is not acceptable in the 21st century. Definitely not in Nigeria.”
Despite these allegations, the All Progressives Congress (APC) urged Edo voters to disregard fake results and await the official announcement from INEC. Meanwhile, INEC has promised to investigate reports of discrepancies in polling unit results.
