PDP’s Governorship Candidate, Asue Ighodalo, has expressed deep concerns over alleged irregularities in the Edo State governorship election held on Saturday, calling it potentially the worst election in Nigeria’s history.

During a press conference at the PDP Situation Room in Benin City on Sunday, Ighodalo criticized the conduct of the election, claiming that his party’s agents were barred from entering the Collation Centre, a move he described as a threat to the nation’s democracy.

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Ighodalo cited multiple instances of alleged discrepancies in the voting process, particularly concerning the tally of accredited voters and total votes announced in over 20 polling units.

According to him, the total votes exceeded the number of accredited voters, which he said was impossible and signaled electoral malpractice.

“There are significant irregularities happening,” Ighodalo stated, “This process is unacceptable, and it seems like there is a deliberate scheme to manipulate the results.”

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He also condemned the reported violence at polling units, blaming thugs allegedly supported by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and some security agents for disrupting the process.

“This kind of election rigging and violence should not be happening in Nigeria in this era,” Ighodalo added, expressing disappointment at the state of the democratic process in the country.

Senator Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, is maintaining a significant lead as collation of results continues in the Edo State governorship election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has so far announced results from 16 out of 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

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Okpebholo has garnered a total of 244,549 votes, giving him a 48,393 vote advantage over Asue Ighodahlo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who has secured 195,954 votes.

Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) is trailing behind with 13,348 votes.

Okpebholo has claimed victory in 10 LGAs, while Ighodahlo has won in 6 LGAs.

Below are the results declared by INEC so far:

Etsako West LGA

APC: 32,107

LP: 2,116

PDP: 17,483

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Etsako Central LGA

APC: 11,906

LP: 381

PDP: 8,455

Etsako East LGA

APC: 20,167

LP: 604

PDP: 9,683

Owan West LGA

APC: 19,380

LP: 446

PDP: 14,189

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Orhionmwon LGA

APC: 16,059

LP: 556

PDP: 14,614

Ovia South-West LGA

APC: 10,150

LP: 849

PDP: 10,260

Esan North-East LGA

APC: 10,648

LP: 194

PDP: 12,522

Esan Central LGA

APC: 10,990

LP: 418

PDP: 8,618

Akoko Edo LGA

APC: 34,847

LP: 2,239

PDP: 15,865

Egor LGA

APC: 16,760

LP: 1,966

PDP: 14,658

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Esan South-East LGA

APC: 8,398

LP: 98

PDP: 14,199

With two more LGAs yet to declare, the final result of the election is expected soon.

So far, INEC has declared results from 16 out of the 18 local government areas, with two more expected later in the day.

Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Monday Okpebholo is on the lead, as at the time of this report.

After months of campaigns and political intrigue, voters in Edo State cast their ballots in the governorship election.

Supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have taken to Ramat Park in Benin City, celebrating even though the official result of the Edo Governorship Election has not yet been announced.

At the time of this report, the collation of results is still ongoing.

The election, held on Saturday, saw three major political parties leading the race, with 17 candidates competing for the governorship seat.

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Party supporters gathered in the streets, exchanging chants and victory songs, each side claiming success in the poll.

Security forces, including police and military personnel, struggled to keep order as the rival groups engaged in spirited celebrations.

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, along with Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri and PDP governorship candidate Asue Ighodalo, have denied reports that they announced results from the collation center. This comes as Obaseki defended his visit to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office earlier.

According to Obaseki, he visited the INEC office in the early hours of Sunday to inquire about the delay in the collation of results for the governorship election.

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Speaking at a press conference alongside Fintiri and Ighodalo, Obaseki explained that his visit prompted INEC to reschedule the collation process to 10 a.m.

Governor Fintiri clarified that he did not announce official results but merely shared figures from polling units and local governments, provided by party agents.

“I didn’t announce any results. I only shared figures from our agents before INEC halted the process. The real violation of the Electoral Act is on INEC’s part, not mine,” Fintiri stated.

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Obaseki was reportedly at the INEC office around 2 a.m., where he stayed for nearly three hours.

His presence sparked protests from members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), leading Deputy Inspector General of Police Frank Mba to intervene and ask Obaseki to leave the premises.

In the press briefing, Obaseki argued that his visit helped push INEC to release information about the status of the results, which party agents had said was being withheld.

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“At around 1 a.m., I received reports that the collation was meant to be moved to the INEC head office, but our party agents were being denied access. I reached out to the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for an explanation but received no response. I then went to the INEC office myself to understand what steps were being taken to continue the collation process,” Obaseki explained.

“When I arrived at 2 a.m., no collation was happening, and the REC refused to come out and provide any information. It wasn’t until after my meeting with DIG Frank Mba that INEC announced around 5 a.m. that collation would resume at 10 a.m.”

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Obaseki emphasized that his visit was solely to obtain information from INEC, as the commission had failed to inform the public about what was happening with the collation process.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially commenced the collation of results for the Edo State gubernatorial election.

The process is being overseen by the returning officer, Prof. Faruk Adamu Kuta, Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna.

In a press briefing on Sunday, Mohammed Haruna, National Commissioner and member of the Information and Voter Education Committee, announced that state-level collation was set to begin.

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He added that the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal had been activated to enable the upload of polling unit results.

According to Haruna, collation has already been completed at all 192 wards, with most of the local government areas having concluded their processes as well.

Officials responsible for collation have either arrived at or are en route to the state collation center in Benin City.

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He emphasized that collation would proceed in line with the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s guidelines.

Haruna also assured that mechanisms were in place to address complaints during the collation process, including provisions to review results declared under duress.

INEC urged party agents, observers, and media representatives to be given unhindered access to the collation centers and called on security agencies to maintain vigilance and professionalism until the process is concluded.

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The Commission also praised the peaceful conduct of the election thus far and reiterated its commitment to transparency and fairness in the final stages of the election.

The Labour Party Caretaker Committee, led by Senator Nenadi Usman, has failed in its attempt to gain official recognition from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the legitimate national executives of the party.

The committee, which was inaugurated on September 6 during a stakeholders’ meeting in Umuahia by Abia State Governor Alex Otti and endorsed by former Labour Party Presidential candidate Peter Obi, sought to replace the Julius Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC).

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The Nenadi Usman faction had approached INEC, requesting formal recognition, arguing that the tenure of the Abure-led NWC had expired.

However, INEC declined to act on the request, citing constitutional issues and procedural irregularities in the process followed by the Usman-led group.

A member of the caretaker committee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that INEC rejected the first letter of recognition because it contained a signature from a representative of Peter Obi, which the commission refused to accept, insisting that no proxy endorsements would be allowed.

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Despite resubmitting the letter with the correct signatures, INEC still did not respond, leaving the committee in limbo.

The source further disclosed that the committee sought legal intervention from an Aba High Court, requesting an injunction to prevent the Abure-led NWC from continuing to operate as the party’s executives.

However, the court denied their request, insisting that the case needed to go through an interlocutory process.

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When the matter was brought up for hearing on Tuesday, the judge refused to proceed, returning the case to the Chief Judge of Abia State for reassignment.

The failure of the Aba court to rule in their favor reportedly frustrated the plans of the Usman-led faction, which had been prepared to roll out its leadership pending a favorable court ruling.

Instead, the group was advised to await the outcome of a related case currently before a Federal High Court in Abuja.

Despite these setbacks, the Nenadi Usman committee remains determined, but their ambitions have been hindered by INEC’s strict adherence to the Labour Party’s constitution.

The committee, which was given a 90-day mandate to organize ward, local government, and state congresses, as well as a national convention, has yet to gain the necessary legal and institutional support to proceed with its objectives.

Labour Party National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, dismissed the caretaker committee’s legitimacy, describing its members as “destabilizing agents” attempting to disrupt the party’s operations.

Ifoh affirmed that the Labour Party remains intact under its current leadership and that any actions outside the party’s constitution would not be tolerated.

“Our party is governed by a constitution, and we will not allow outsiders to displace those who built this party. Some of these individuals have only been in the party for a short time, and they are already trying to position themselves for control. Their efforts are unconstitutional and will not be accepted,” Ifoh stated.

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged as the winner of all chairmanship and councillorship positions in the local government elections held across Kwara State on Saturday.

This was confirmed in a statement by the chairman of the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission, Mohammed Baba-Okanla, on Sunday morning.

According to the statement, the APC secured victories in all 16 local government chairmanship seats and the 193 councillorship seats across the wards in the state.

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Five political parties, including the APC, Allied Peoples Movement (APM), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), and Accord Party, participated in the elections.

“The electoral process in the 16 local government areas and 193 wards saw the peaceful participation of these five parties.

After thorough collation and verification of results from our officers, the APC has been declared the winner in all categories,” the statement read.

Baba-Okanla commended the peaceful conduct of the elections and lauded the security agencies for ensuring a calm and orderly process.

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“We are grateful to the people of Kwara State for their turnout and to all political parties for maintaining peace during the election. The security agencies also played a crucial role in maintaining order throughout,” he said.

Here are the details of the results from the polling units, wards, and local governments for the chairmanship positions:

Ifelodun LG
APC – 22,524
PDP – 2,727
APM – 482

Oyun LG
APC – 12,159
PDP – 356
APM – 386

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Oke Ero LG
APC – 7,472
PDP – 1,168
APM – 224

Isin LG
APC – 8,173
PDP – 1,165
APM – 77

Edu LG
APC – 23,963
PDP – 3,851
APM – 424

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Patigi LG
APC – 14,119
PDP – 2,939
APM – 806

Moro LG
APC – 14,555
PDP – 1,670
APM – 117

Asa LG
APC – 15,024
PDP – 2,638
APM – 41

Ilorin South LG
APC – 20,207
PDP – 2,072
APM – 226
SDP – 621

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Baruten LG
APC – 38,549
PDP – 1,335
APM – 665

Ilorin East LG
APC – 20,883
PDP – 5,383
SDP – 475
APM – 835

Kaima LG
APC – 23,029
PDP – 1,737
APM – 59

Ekiti LG
APC – 8,707
PDP – 907
APM – 966

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Offa LG
Accord – 1,919
APC – 22,400
PDP – 1,586
APM – 636
SDP – 391

Ilorin West LG
APC – 50,128
PDP – 4,202
APM – 1,882

Irepodun LG
APC – 14,010
PDP – 2,106
APM – 559
SDP – 239

The Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABSIEC) has released its timetable for the upcoming local government chairmanship and councillorship elections, scheduled for November 2, 2024.

This announcement, made on Saturday, has raised concerns among party leaders about their ability to meet the tight deadlines.

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The elections will see new council chairpersons and 184 councillors elected across Abia’s 17 local government areas.

However, during a meeting that involved representatives of 19 political parties, security personnel, members of the State House of Assembly, and other observers, several political parties expressed reservations about the compressed timeline.

Prof. George N. Chima, Chairman of ABSIEC, outlined the detailed schedule, starting with the issuance of the election notice on September 21, 2024.

Party primaries are set to take place from September 25 to October 4, 2024, while the deadline for submitting candidate lists is October 7, 2024.

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Candidate screening by ABSIEC will occur between October 8 and October 10, with the hearing of appeals following on October 11 and 12.

The final list of candidates will be published on October 16, and campaigns will run from October 18 to October 31, ahead of the elections on November 2, 2024.

In his remarks, Prof. Chima emphasized the critical role of local government in fostering grassroots democracy.

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He stressed ABSIEC’s commitment to conducting free, fair, and credible elections, assuring attendees that the commission would uphold the highest standards of impartiality and transparency.

“Our mission is to change the narrative and ensure that these elections are no longer business as usual,” Chima stated.

Despite the commission’s assurances, party leaders at the meeting voiced several concerns, including the credibility of council members overseeing the process, the lack of clarity on the cost of nomination forms, and their exclusion from consultations in planning the timetable.

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Some also criticized the late release of the election calendar, which they argued left insufficient time for adequate preparation.

Responding to these concerns, Chima declined to provide specific budgetary details but reassured attendees that all necessary security measures would be in place to ensure a smooth electoral process.

He also promised that further information on the cost of election forms would be released in due course.

The unveiling of the electoral timetable marks the beginning of preparations for what is expected to be a highly competitive local government election, with political parties eager to secure leadership at the grassroots level.