Rochas Foundation A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and former governor of Imo State, Senator Rochas Okorocha, has described the loss of his party in the Edo State governorship election as people’s revolution against injustice. This was even as he said members’ respect for President Muhammadu Buhari was the reason the party is still intact, warning that there could be an imminent possible implosion in the party if the leadership failed to address some issues threatening its sustenance. The senator representing Imo West Senatorial Zone, reacting to the outcome of the just-concluded Edo governorship election, insisted that APC’s loss was the masses’ revolution against injustice. “If the report I am getting from Edo is not quite interesting when injustice comes into a ...
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the result of the September 19 governorship election in Edo State. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier announced the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Governor Godwin Obaseki as the winner of the election after securing 307, 955 votes, while the Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressives Congress polled 223,619. But the APC has alleged a foul lay in the election, saying some of the figures announced were fabricated. While rejecting the results of the election, the Chairman of the APC Media Campaign Council, John Mayaki, alleged “strong-arm tactics”. In a terse statement in which he urged supporters of the party to stay calm while the party leaders determine the next move, Mayaki said, some members o...
File Photo The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign council for Edo State governorship election, Sunday has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to release the Edo election results, saying that it will resist attempts to declare the election which was held on Saturday inconclusive. Chairman of the party’s National campaign council and Rivers State governor, Mr. Nyeson Wike, who disclosed this to journalists in Benin City cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against such move. Wike alleged that the INEC returning officer for Orhionmwon local government has disappeared after supervising collation of results in the area. He saids, “We call on INEC and to let the general public know that the man is locked up in an office in INEC complex.” Offi...
The Centre for Democracy and Development on Saturday condemned the high incidence of vote-trading recorded in the Edo State governorship election. The organisation said reports from its observers on the field showed that politicians, in an attempt to circumvent the electoral process, used young girls as their contact with the voters for the trading. It lamented that votes were traded for cash gifts from N1,000 to N15,000. The Director of CDD, Idayat Hassan, who said these during a press briefing on the preliminary report on the election said it was quite worrisome that “young girls were used for indirect vote-buying during the election.” She said, “We saw largely vote-buying in the Edo election, the most worrisome trend in this election is the level of sophistication at which politicians e...
Some Presiding Officers in the Sept.19, governorship election in Edo and an international Observer team, Centre for Strategic Conflict Management, have commended the peaceful electoral process in Oredo Ward 4. They gave the commendation at the on-going governorship election on Saturday in Benin. Newsmen report that the Oredo Ward 4 is the voting point of the incumbent governor, Godwin Obaseki. A presiding officer in the Ward 4 polling unit 25, Jonathan Ayo, commended the electorate for conducting themselves peacefully and in an orderly manner during accreditation and voting. According to him, the process so far has been smooth, with everything working well. ”The card readers are working perfectly well today; we have not had any issue of failure of card reader today. “The voters are conduct...
Barely 24 hours to the Governorship election in Edo State, Yiaga Africa, through the Watching The Vote citizens movement, has deployed its Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) methodology for the election. According to Yiaga Africa, the PVT is an advanced election observation methodology that employs well-established statistical principles and sophisticated information technologies in providing timely and accurate information on the conduct of accreditation, voting, and counting, and it independently verifies the official governorship results as announced by the Independent National Election Commission, INEC. In a statement jointly signed by the Chair of Yiaga Africa election observation mission for Edo State, Dr Aisha Abdullahi, Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Guinea and former African Union Com...
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to make Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State a model. Wike, the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Campaign Council for the poll, spoke during a live television programme in Port Harcourt. A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, quoted the governor as saying that the outcome of the election would provide hope for 2023 general election. He said: “Everyone that loves this country should ensure that tomorrow’s election is credible, free and fair. “The police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should show Nigerians that they can support credible elections. “INEC should ensure that result sheets are not in the hands of i...
Ahead of Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Edo State, the government has declared Friday, September 18, 2020, as a work-free day. This was contained in a statement titled ‘Edo 2020: Obaseki declares Friday work-free day’ on Thursday. The statement noted that the declaration of a work-free day was to enable workers in the State Public Service to travel to their respective Constituencies to exercise their franchise. It quoted the Edo State Head of Service, through the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Aziegbemhin P.E, as saying, “Sequel to the forthcoming Edo State gubernatorial election scheduled to hold on Saturday September 19, 2020, Mr. Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has approved Friday 18th September 2020 as a work-free day to enable workers in the State Public Service travel to their respective ...
Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) says it has deployed no fewer than 13,3111 personnel alongside 60 sniffer dogs to ensure security during the Sept. 19 Edo governorship election. Mr Abdullahi Gana, Commandant General NSCDC, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen by the Corps Public Relations Officer (PRO) Mr Emmanuel Okeh on Wednesday in Abuja. Gana revealed that the deployed personnel were drawn from the Corps Headquarters and its commands in Kogi, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta and Ondo state. He said that the deployed staff would complement personnel of its command in Edo and the zonal command in Benin. He said that the deployment was to ensure that every act of electoral malpractice, violence and other social vices that could affect the smooth conduct of the el...
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has asked voters to cast their votes for the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Godwin Obaseki, in the Saturday’s Governorship election in Edo State. He tweeted this a few hours after the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, said Obaseki does not deserve a single vote in the Saturday governorship election. The former governor of Lagos State had in a televised broadcast said, “He (Obaseki) does not deserve any democratic ballot paper. Don’t vote for him, I appeal to all of you.” But Obaseki debunked Tinubu’s claim, noting that Tinubu would fail in his attempt “to extend his political dominance and empire to Edo State”. Atiku in his tweet warned against violence during the election. He said, “The democracy that we enjoy t...
Rev. Dr. Felix Omobude, National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), has charged the people of Edo State to maintain peace and orderliness before, during and after the September 19 governorship election in the state. Dr. Omobude who is also the General Superintendent of Gospel Light International Ministry (GLIM) – New Covenant Gospel Church (NCGC), in a press statement in Benin City, signed by his Media Aide, Deacon Ralph Okhiria, said the election of an individual politician is not worthy of the blood or life of any resident of the state. “My dear good people of Edo state, I identify and join my voice to the many other good citizens of the state to call for peace during this governorship election scheduled for Saturday, this week.” “The contestants have transversed t...