PDP accuses INEC, Police of collusion with APC to rig Edo 2024 governorship election

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised strong allegations against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), accusing them of bypassing crucial electoral procedures during the collation of results in the Edo 2024 governorship election.

The PDP claims that INEC and the police are acting in concert with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in a deliberate attempt to overturn an impending PDP victory.

In a statement issued by the Edo State Chairman of the PDP, Dr. Anthony Aziegbemi, the party expressed deep concern over what it perceives as a concerted effort to manipulate the collation process.

According to Dr. Aziegbemi, the process appears to have been compromised to favor the APC, with secretive meetings allegedly being held by APC leadership to execute a rigging strategy.

“We are alarmed at the lengths the APC is going to in order to stir up a crisis around the election results,” Dr. Aziegbemi said.

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He specifically pointed to a breach in the established collation process, claiming that results from the Edo South local government are being moved directly to the State Secretariat, bypassing the local government collation stage.

“This is a huge red flag,” he added, emphasizing that such actions undermine the transparency of the electoral process.

Adding to the controversy, PDP agents have reportedly been denied access to the State Collation Centre, where the results have been transferred.

Dr. Aziegbemi described this restriction as ominous, warning that it signals a broader scheme to manipulate the numbers before an official announcement. “The grand plan appears to be the fabrication of results, which will be released at an odd hour to minimize scrutiny,” he explained.

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The PDP chairman further alleged that the APC’s initial attempts to rig the election in the field had failed, prompting the party to resort to altering results during the collation phase.

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“Whatever manipulation they attempted on the ground has not succeeded. Now, they are resorting to last-minute alterations in an effort to clean up the records before the results are declared,” he said.

Dr. Aziegbemi warned that the APC is exerting pressure on INEC to announce the final results in the early hours of the morning, a move that he believes would enable them to finalize the rigging without public oversight.

The accusations come at a critical juncture in the Edo 2024 election, raising questions about the role of electoral institutions and security agencies in ensuring a free and fair process.

Both INEC and the NPF have yet to respond to the PDP’s claims, and the situation is expected to evolve as the collation process continues.