Obaseki explains late-night visit to Edo collation centre, criticizes INEC for lack of transparency

Outgoing Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has explained his early-morning visit to the State Collation Centre in Benin City on Sunday, stating that he sought to gather first-hand information on why the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had halted the announcement of election results without any explanation.

Speaking at a press conference, Obaseki described his visit as an attempt to address growing concerns over the delay in the collation process.

“I then went to INEC to seek to meet with the REC to try and understand what steps the INEC was taking to continue the process of collation. When I got in there at about 2:00 am, I did not see any coalition taking place and the REC refused to come out to explain what the situation was.

“Subsequently, the DIG Police Frank Mba came in and had a meeting with me where I explained that if INEC was postponing or stopped the collation process, then as part of their rules, they should inform the public as to what next

“As of 3:00 a.m., there was no information from INEC as to what was going to happen or what was going to happen next. It was subsequently after my insistence and meeting with Mr Frank Mba that INEC now released a statement at about 5:00a.m this morning informing the public that the collation process would start at 10 a.m. this morning.

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“So, my go in there was essentially to obtain information from INEC because they had refused to put any information in the public domain as to what was going to happen with the collation process.”

Obaseki arrived at the INEC office at around 1:00 a.m. after receiving reports that collation had been moved to the state headquarters, but without public communication.

According to him, there were alarming reports that agents of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were being denied access to the collation venue. “I tried reaching the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, but there was no response,” Obaseki said.

Upon arriving at the INEC office around 2:00 a.m., the governor found that no collation was taking place, and the REC refused to meet with him to clarify the situation.

Obaseki expressed frustration over INEC’s failure to communicate any updates to the public, particularly regarding the suspension of the collation process.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Frank Mba, eventually intervened, meeting with Obaseki and acknowledging the need for INEC to inform the public about the delay.

After several hours of uncertainty, INEC finally released a statement around 5:00 a.m., announcing that collation would resume at 10:00 a.m.

Obaseki emphasized that his visit was solely to obtain information, as the lack of transparency from INEC had raised serious concerns.

“As part of INEC’s rules, they are obligated to inform the public about any changes, but that was not happening,” he noted, underscoring the need for accountability and transparency in the election process.