Allegations of electoral malpractice have surfaced following the just-concluded Edo State governorship election, with accusations that the All Progressives Congress (APC) manipulated the results from Oredo Local Government Area.
Several eyewitness reports and party officials claim that the APC orchestrated a rigging scheme that involved altering vote counts, using police intervention to disrupt the collation process, and violating the Electoral Act.
Contrary to standard electoral procedures, which mandate that local government results be collated and announced at local government headquarters, the results for Oredo LGA were not made public at the local collation centre.
Instead, security forces acting on orders from APC chieftains, stormed the Oredo local government headquarters. In the chaos that followed, election observers and party agents were tear-gassed and forced to flee, leaving the election materials unprotected.
A party agent from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was present during the incident, recounted the violent scene: “It was total confusion. The police came in, firing tear gas at everyone in the collation centre. People were choking and running for cover.
“In the middle of the chaos, the election results were taken away by the police without any announcement. We knew something was wrong.”
The results, initially expected to be declared at the local government headquarters, were transported to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) state collation centre in Benin City.
Before they arrived at INEC’s headquarters, reports suggest the votes were tampered with, leading to alteration in favour of the APC.
According to party officials and independent observers, 13,526 votes were added to the APC’s tally, while 4,335 were deducted from the PDP’s count.
Multiple sources have named four key INEC officials allegedly involved in manipulating the election results. These officials include:
Omolara Igbinedion, the Ward 1 Collation Officer
Ahmed Mohammed Nasir, the Ward 2 Collation Officer
Olusola Adewale, the Ward 7 Collation Officer
Benedette Anthony Udoh, the Oredo Local Government Electoral Officer.
The officials are accused of facilitating the rigging process by allowing the unlawful movement of election materials from the local headquarters and altering vote tallies before submission to the state collation centre.
An electoral observer who spoke on condition of anonymity stated: “We observed strange movements of election materials, and the tally sheets we saw at the local headquarters were completely different from what was eventually declared at the state level.”
Civil society groups and election observers have also raised concerns about the irregularities in Oredo.
The Centre for Election Integrity (CEI) has called for an independent investigation into the electoral malpractice, with a specific focus on the role of security forces and INEC officials.
Dr. Cyril Okojie, a representative of the CEI, urged INEC to restore public confidence in the electoral process:
His words: “We are deeply concerned about the reports from Oredo. INEC must launch a full-scale investigation into how the results were handled and hold those responsible accountable. The credibility of this election is at stake.”