PDP accuses APC pressuring INEC to manipulate Edo election, warns of consequences

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised alarm over alleged efforts by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, in Edo State to suspend the collation of Saturday’s governorship election results.

In a strongly worded statement, PDP spokesman Debo Ologunagba accused the APC of attempting to manipulate the results in their favor through the suspension of the collation process.

“Intelligence available to the PDP indicates that the APC is mounting pressure on the INEC Chairman and Edo State REC to halt the collation process to manipulate the INEC portal and replace the authentic results from polling units with fabricated figures,” Ologunagba said.

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The PDP urged INEC to resist the APC’s alleged pressure, calling on the commission to safeguard the integrity of the election by ensuring that the results are not tampered with. “INEC must stand firm and ensure that nobody alters the results as obtained from the polling units,” the PDP said.

In a further accusation, the PDP claimed that the APC is attempting to influence the military to withdraw from their strategic positions across the state, creating opportunities for APC supporters to deploy armed thugs to disrupt the collation process. “The APC is mounting pressure on the military to stand down, so they can use thugs to manipulate the process,” Ologunagba warned.

The PDP’s statement emphasized the gravity of the situation, cautioning that any attempt to alter the results would have serious consequences. “The people of Edo State already have authentic results from the polling units. Any attempt to change those results will escalate tensions and provoke severe consequences for those responsible,” the PDP warned.

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The party also reiterated that the citizens of Edo State are prepared to defend their votes. “The people are ready to use all democratic means, including legitimate physical confrontation, to protect their votes if necessary,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reported that it has uploaded over 98% of the polling unit result sheets from the governorship election to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV). As of 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, INEC had uploaded the result sheets from 4,435 out of 4,519 polling units across the state.

With 17 candidates vying for the governorship seat, political analysts have described the race as primarily a contest among three major candidates: PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, APC’s Monday Okpebholo, and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP). The results from the election will determine the next leader of Edo State, with intense public scrutiny on the integrity of the collation process amidst the PDP’s allegations.