A pro-democracy organization, the Initiative for Democratic Advancement and Free Speech, has urged the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its gubernatorial candidate from last month’s Edo election, Asue Ighodalo, to withdraw their legal challenges regarding the election results.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo, as the winner of the election.
In a statement released on Monday, Patrick Osaigbovo, the Executive Director of the group, expressed regret that the PDP and Ighodalo’s primary argument centers around the effectiveness of the INEC Results Viewing Portal (iREV).
The statement voiced disappointment over the continuous criticism directed at INEC and security agencies by the PDP.
“These attacks reflect the PDP’s pre-election tactic of using blatant propaganda to intimidate state institutions and mislead the electorate,” he said.
“As an advocacy group dedicated to enhancing Nigeria’s electoral democracy, we assert that the PDP has alienated the public through its own actions well before the election,” he added.
The Initiative for Democratic Advancement and Free Speech questioned how the PDP expected its candidate to win an off-season election after neglecting grassroots campaigning in favor of the APC’s Senator Okpebholo, who engaged in comprehensive campaigning across various localities. In contrast, the PDP focused on media propaganda and appealing to diaspora sentiments, failing to connect with local voters ahead of election day.
“One individual even went as far as to place a ₦5 million bet on national TV that the PDP would win, treating the hopes and aspirations of Edo residents like a gambling game. This alone illustrates the PDP’s irresponsible approach in addressing the people’s needs,” he remarked.
The pro-democracy group pointed out that the PDP appeared to overstep its bounds by usurping INEC’s authority to declare election results. They also noted the PDP’s reliance on the “verdict” from several clearly biased groups that styled themselves as election observers.
Osaigbovo stated that these so-called observers exceeded their roles by publicly disputing the results announced by INEC, which should only be responsible for observing the election and submitting recommendations to the electoral body.
The statement further elaborated: “According to INEC guidelines, results are to be uploaded to its Results Viewing Portal (iReV) only once the last voter has finished casting their ballot. However, the PDP started releasing results from its so-called ‘Situation Room’ as early as 10 AM, falsely claiming they were from the iReV. This premature result announcement from units still processing voters was intended to produce a predetermined outcome and potentially incite post-election violence in the state.”
“In any case, the PDP is again indulging in unrealistic expectations by relying on claims regarding the iReV.”
“While the results declared by INEC align with what is available on the iReV, we must remind the PDP that only a year ago, in October 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that INEC’s failure to electronically transmit results via the iREV portal did not impact the overall collation of those results.”
“Justice Inyang Okoro, who led a panel of five Supreme Court justices, delivered the judgment regarding appeals brought by Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP contesting the Presidential Elections Petitions Court (PEPC) decision that confirmed Bola Tinubu’s victory in February of that year.”
“Justice Okoro emphasized that the Electoral Act grants INEC the authority to choose the method of transmitting election results and that the appellants failed to prove any noncompliance with the Electoral Law, relying solely on INEC’s inability to electronically transmit results to the iReV.”
“As a result, the highest court concluded that the lack of election results on the INEC iReV could not serve as grounds for annulling the February 2023 presidential election.”
“Instead of backing partisan groups that claim to be election observers, the PDP should focus on getting their own organization in order.”
“The PDP must realize that election observer groups are not the same as election monitors. Nigeria has one official election monitor—INEC. Observer groups are there to observe and cannot reject any results announced by INEC. The PDP should stop chasing unrealistic expectations and start preparing for the 2028 election,” he concluded.
In a quick response, Reverend Olu Martins, the Deputy Director-General, Media for the PDP Campaign Council, dismissed the pro-democracy group’s stance as unfounded and concerning.
He stated, “The allegations are without merit,” adding that the claims are not backed by evidence.
“The election observers are seasoned individuals with experience in monitoring electoral processes. Our electoral system requires improvement. Many observers concluded that the processes were fair and transparent at the polling units,” he noted.
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