Obaseki’s Victory! Despite Buhari’s Congratulatory Message, APC Says Edo Election Skewed, Rejects Results

The All Progressives Party (APC) in Edo State has rejected the outcome of the governorship election in the state which produced incumbent governor, Godwin Obaseki for second term office.

BIGPEN had reported that INEC declared Obaseki winner of the election after polling 307,955 votes to defeat his main challenger, Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu of All Progressives Congress (APC), who got 223,619 votes.

But Edo APC, in its reaction to the election result announced by INEC, alleged foul play in the September 19th governorship election.

The party, however called on party members to stay calm while party leaders study the result and decide what is next.

This came hours after President Muhammadu Buhari, had on Sunday, says his commitment to free and fair elections is firm following the election process in Edo State which led to the victory of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

The President, in a statement by Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, congratulated Obaseki who was declared winner of the election and urged him to show grace and humility in victory.

In his reaction to the outcome of the election as announced by INEC, President Buhari said: “My commitment to free and fair elections is firm, because without free and fair elections, the foundation of our political and moral authority will be weak.”

The President added: “I have consistently advocated for free and fair elections in the country because it is the bedrock of true democratic order.

“Democracy will mean nothing if the votes of the people don’t count or if their mandate is fraudulently tampered with”, the statement added.

He commended the people of Edo State, the parties, candidates and security agencies for conducting themselves responsibly

But a statement by the Chairman of the APC Media Campaign Council, Mr. John Mayaki, says the party rejected the result, citing alleged strong arm tactics.

“Our people were arbitrarily arrested, many of the figures were fabricated,” said the terse statement, which the party said was only a preliminary reaction.

It further alleged illicit tampering with results, to shore up PDP numbers and mark down APC’s.

“Areas where we won, they cancelled them.  They decreased the votes in areas we had advantage,” the party further claimed. “They rejected our results and jerked up theirs.”

Meanwhile, the party also claimed there was arbitrary arrest of local party members, who could have resisted the outrage, while Governor Godwin Obaseki was busy diverting attention with false alarm.

“Obaseki shouted that he was being rigged out and blamed INEC at the initial stage but that was to divert attention from the evil going on in the field”, the statement said.

The party, however, told its members to stay calm, thanking them for their support, and adding that party leaders were studying the result and would announce their decision and course of action as soon as possible.