Amidst protests, PDP, Ighodala denied access to election materials

For two consecutive days, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Edo State has denied the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, access to crucial election materials, including the Bimodal Voter Authentication System (BVAS) machines, used in the September 21 governorship election.

This defiance persists despite a tribunal ruling on September 29, where Justice W. Kpoc granted the PDP permission to inspect the materials. The PDP had sought to gather evidence to support its petition challenging the election results, which it alleges were rigged in favor of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

On Monday, PDP’s legal team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Olusegun Jolaawo, visited the INEC headquarters in Benin City, hoping to review the BVAS machines, voters’ registers, and other relevant election materials. Despite presenting the court order, the team was denied access and advised to return the following day, as INEC officials claimed they needed permission from Abuja.

On their return Tuesday, the PDP team faced the same rejection. Meanwhile, hundreds of Edo women took to the streets of Benin City, protesting the election’s outcome and alleging manipulation by INEC to favor the APC.

Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, criticized INEC’s actions, accusing the commission of delaying the legal process and conspiring with the APC to frustrate PDP’s efforts to reclaim its allegedly stolen mandate.

According to him, “We are aware that the clandestine and surreptitious game plan is to frustrate the PDP appeal and ensure the petition is not filed before the Saturday deadline.”

The commissioner also accused the APC of planning to burn the INEC office, so as to destroy the BVAS machines and other electoral materials in an attempt to eliminate evidence of their ‘electoral fraud.’

Reassuring that the PDP would not relent in exposing the electoral theft and regaining the mandate that was duly given to the party by the majority of Edo people during the September 21, guber poll, Nehikhare called on the Police to take charge of the INEC office to prevent the planned attack and burning of the facility and also ensure enforcement of the court order, allowing PDP to inspect the election materials.

Women protest outcome of governorship poll

The women sympathetic to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, accused INEC, and the police of complicity in the process that led to the declaration of the candidate of APC, Sen. Monday Okpebholo as winner of the election.

Armed with placards of various inscriptions, such as “Tinubu tell INEC to return our mandate,” “INEC Why did you manipulate the IREV results,” “Edo PDP won the election but INEC and Police colluded to change it,” among others, the women chanted anti-Tinubu, anti-INEC and anti-Oshiomhole songs as they marched through the major streets of Benin City and Ring Road, the city centre.

Speaking to journalists, a PDP woman leader and former Chairman of Esan West Local Government Area of the state, Mrs. Stella Okoro said as mothers that mean well for the development of the state, it beholds on them to come out in protest and demand for the restoration of the mandate freely given to the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo.

She said: “We are here to protest against our stolen mandate, we are pained over the outcome of the election which was won by Asue Ighodalo. You can see that all the women are in black, we are crying to tell the world that we are mourning. Women and youths came out in large numbers and voted for Dr. Ighodalo, we want our mandate back.”

Also, Edo South PDP Senatorial Woman Leader, Pat Elabor said: “We campaigned hard and people of the state voted for us, but to our greatest surprise, they manipulated the result. We are ready to fight and ensure that our mandate must be restored to us. We have had enough of what they are doing to us, we the mothers are in pain.”