Edo: APC dismisses poll fraud, police recover stolen BVAS

Following the Peoples Democratic Party’s rejection of the results of the Edo governorship poll on Saturday, the All Progressives Congress warned the opposition party to reconsider its decision to contest the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election, saying it would be a sheer waste of time and resources.

Senator Monday Okpebholo, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, was declared the winner of the tightly contested election on Sunday.

The Returning Officer for the election and the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Prof. Faruq Adamu Kuta, announced the result at the INEC collation centre in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, winning 10 out of the 18 Local Government Areas in the state. His closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party, obtained 247,274 votes, winning eight LGAs. Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata finished third with 22,761 votes.
Okpebholo succeeds the incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki, who will leave Osadebe House on November 11 after completing two terms in office.

The National Publicity Director of the APC, Bala Ibrahim, gave the warning in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Tuesday.

The PDP had on Monday rejected the poll outcome announced by INEC and demanded an immediate review of the results by the electoral body.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, called on Nigerians to reject the results, adding that they are heading to court to reclaim their mandate.

Reacting to the move in a phone interview, Bala disclosed that the opposition was free to approach the court to test its luck.

He said, “They have a right to go to court and we will encourage them to do it so we can finish them finally. They have been defeated at the poll and they will be defeated again in the court. Before the election, they were boasting that they had enough support from the people to win the election. But that support failed them.

“The same way the evidence they claim to have in going to court will fail them. This is because the allegation they are making is unfounded and they would not be able to prove anything. But because democracy has given everyone the right to challenge elections in court, we encourage them to go there so we can nail their coffin there.”

Edo State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Peter Uwadiae-Igbinigie, on Tuesday tasked the PDP to bring evidence over voting during the election.

He said, “They should bring evidence of over voting or where INEC aided APC’s victory so that they can be taken seriously. If you lose an election, you should be bold enough to say ‘yes.’

“The spirit of sportsmanship is lacking in PDP. The only person that exhibited this was President Goodluck Jonathan. The people left in PDP are the ones who don’t have conscience. How can anybody say that APC rigged this election?
“Let me tell you about vote-buying, which is the alias of the PDP. If you go to the field that day you will know how much the PDP spent. The people took the money and still voted their heart. They believe they were collecting the money taken from them. What we did was mobilise people to their polling units no matter how remote it was.

“We were the opposition in Edo and I can tell you we had no money to buy votes. The constitution and the electoral act is structured in such a way that if you have complains after the election, you have the opportunity to ventilate your anger in court or tribunal were they can present evidences.

“They have told us that they are going to the tribunal, we will meet them there,” he added.

He added, “If you monitored the election in the state, is there any where heard of gunshot, ballot box snatching or any place where INEC officials were manhandled? This is the freest election that INEC has conducted in the fourth republic.

“Despite the early morning rain on election day, voting commenced in the most peaceful manner. The police, party agents, INEC officials and other stakeholders were alive to their responsibilities.

“They never thought we would win Oredo, Egor and put up a good show in Ikpoba Okha. These were areas they banked on to defeat us but we mobilised our people to come out and vote.

“The brigandage of the government of Edo needed to stop with this election. The people are tired of MoUs, unfulfilled promises, destruction of their properties and the way the government of Edo has manhandled them. All we needed to do was encourage our people to come out to vote, especially in areas they never expected them to vote.”
Reacting to Labour Party candidate, Olumide Akpata’s that APC and the PDP engaged in vote buying to a point that votes went to the party who could pay more, the Head of Publicity, Edo State Campaign Council, Orobosa Omo-Ojo, said the party’s campaign strategy led to Okpebholo’s victory.

“What happened is that the LP could not match PDP in the area of vote-buying. We don’t believe that the people should sell their vote so we didn’t present them any offer to do so. We secured the votes of rural voters whose farm lands have been taken away from them by the PDP and have become hungry due to food shortages.”

The National Coordinator of the Obidients Movement, Dr Yunusa Tanko, also condemned INEC over its handling of the just-concluded Edo governorship election.

Tanko, who described the poll as deeply troubling, said the outcome did not truly reflect the wishes of the electorate.

He said, “Those with a conscience must stand firm against the individuals and agencies abusing their positions to weaken our democratic institutions. Edo State election is a clear signal that electoral reforms are urgently needed, and we must prioritize the protection of our democratic processes.

“It is time to collectively push for a truly independent electoral commission, transparent campaign financing, voter education and empowerment. It is time to ensure that individuals and organizations are made to be strictly held accountable for electoral misconduct and Offences as a way of safeguarding our democracy.

“As Obidients, we urge Nigerians, irrespective of party affiliations, to come together and defend our democracy from this type of brigandage for the future of our nation to ensure that power stays in the hands of the people, not in the grasp of a select few.”
Stolen BIVAS recovered

The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Frank Mba, says the Nigeria Police Force arrested six persons on Election Day, while stolen or illegally acquired BIVAS machines also recovered.

He added that weapons and 58 voters cards that were in unlawful possession of a suspect were also recovered.

He said, “Yes, there were arrests made. Six persons were arrested. We expect this number to shoot up in the course of investigations, because we expect that there will be accomplices. I mean there will be people who aided, who abetted, who procured, who facilitated and who sponsored these suspects who were arrested.

“We also recovered a total number of four weapons of different mix. This is also a subject of a very wide investigation. Life ammunition was also recovered in the process of recovering those weapons.

“A total number of 58 voter cards that were in unlawful position of a suspect, some stolen or illegally and illicitly acquired BIVAS machines were equally recovered, while we fully recovered some amounts in cash.

“This is a summary of everything we’ve done with our arrest and recoveries, but like I said earlier we expect that as we deep in and continue and expand our investigation that we will be able to pick more persons.”
Mba stated that the police had commenced massive patrol of the state.

He added, “Now that the elections are over. We have activated our post elections strategies. We are commencing massive patrol of the state. We’re putting in place a strategy that that will give rise to high visibility policing. We will be conducting confidence building patrols, show of force and the protection of all critical assets of the state. We will be paying very special attention to public spaces and we will be paying very special attention to INEC facilities and government facilities.

“That’s what we’ve been doing in the last 48 hours. As we are all witnesses to the peaceful elections here in Edo State, I want to, therefore, seize this opportunity to appreciate very deeply the good people of Edo for the commendable manner in which they have conducted themselves throughout the course of the election.”

US applauds poll

Amid the controversies surrounding the poll, the United States Mission in Nigeria lauded the people of Edo State for their peaceful participation in the gubernatorial election.

The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills Jr., issued a statement on Tuesday urging all stakeholders to uphold the integrity of the electoral process as results were announced.
He commended Governor Godwin Obaseki for advocating for peace and called on INEC and other stakeholders to respect legal avenues for contesting results.
“The US Mission in Nigeria commends the people of Edo State for the widely peaceful conduct of gubernatorial elections on September 21 and reiterates calls for calm following the announcement of results.

“We commend Governor Obaseki’s appeal for peace and urge all stakeholders, including INEC, to support established electoral processes and respect legal procedures to challenge results.

“Transparency and due process are crucial to maintaining public confidence in any democratic system.

“The United States reaffirms our commitment to supporting free, fair, transparent, and credible elections in Nigeria and will continue to monitor the situation closely,” he stated.

 Lawyers, CSOs disagree

The Edo poll again intensified calls for the enactment of laws for the establishment of an electoral offences commission to try electoral offenders.

According to election observers, the exercise was characterised by vote-buying, manipulation and other irregularities. In some cases, voters were said to have collected N10,000 each to vote for a particular candidate.
As the debate continues on the desirability or otherwise of an electoral offences commission, some lawyers and civil society groups are divided, with some arguing that another commission is not the solution to the challenges of electioneering in the country.

Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said an electoral offence commission was needed because the Independent National Electoral Commission cannot be trusted to prosecute election offenders.

He said, “Electoral offences commission is long overdue. We need it because INEC itself is embroiled in corruption. INEC has shown unwillingness to conduct free and credible elections in recent times.

“It will be wrong to expect INEC to prosecute electoral offenders because its officials are also complicit in the offences we are witnessing today. So, it is important to have a neutral body that can prosecute even officials of INEC.”

According to the rights activist, what happened in Edo is likely to play out in the November governorship poll in Ondo State if the right thing is not done.

“In Edo, we saw how money overtook the will of the people. The same dubious script was also used in the 2023 general election and it will be the same in the Ondo governorship election later this year,” he warned.

However, taking a different position is President, Informal Sector Alliance, Mr Clifford Thomas, who noted that rather than punishing electoral offenders only, the politicians, who induced them with money, should face same fate.
“How many special courts do we need to have? Electoral offences court can be good if it can speed up cases but what are the consequences of speeding up cases? Will speeding up cases reverse the evil that has already been done? Do we just punish electoral offenders and leave out the beneficiaries of such financially induced elections?”

Founder, Women Arise, Joe Okei-Odumakin, added, “We have adequate laws to ensure a free and fair election; what we lack is enforcement. Politicians are the ones who make laws; they choose to enforce the ones that do not affect them directly. We are a peculiar people in this part of the world, without consequences for wrong deeds. But without sounding pessimistic, it (electoral offences commission) may not make any difference in real terms.”

Throwing his weight behind the call for the establishment of the commission, another human rights lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, backed calls for an electoral offences commission. “What happened in Edo goes beyond just vote-buying. There was blatant stealing of votes and manipulation of election results. Results were falsified.

“One of the most unconstitutional ways of changing government is vote buying and any form of electoral manipulation. Let us have the electoral offences commission deal specifically with election offences just as we have the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission handling financial offences.”

Certificates of return

Meanwhile, INEC will issue certificates of return to the Edo State Governor-elect, Okpebholo, and his Deputy, Dennis Idahosa, within 10 days of their election, by the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, following their victory in the just-concluded gubernatorial election, The PUNCH learnt on Tuesday.

The issuance of certificates of return will officially confirm Okpebholo and Idahosa as the Governor and Deputy Governor of Edo State, marking the next step in the transition of power.
Section 72(1) of the Electoral Act mandates INEC to issue certificates of return to all elected candidates within 14 days of their victory in the polls. Thus, following their announcement on Sunday as winners of the poll, they now have within 10 days to be handed their certificates by the electoral body.

“By the provisions of Section 72(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, a sealed certificate of return at an election in a prescribed form shall be issued within 14 days to every candidate who has been returned by the returning officer in an election under this Act: Provided that where the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court being the final appellate court in any election petition, as the case may be, nullifies any candidate’s certificate of return, the Commission shall within 48 hours after receipt of the court’s order, issue the successful candidate with a valid certificate of return,” it reads.

Again, Shaibu triumphs

In another twist, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday dismissed two separate motions filed by the Edo state Government and the state’s House of Assembly, against the reinstatement of Philip Shaibu as the deputy governor of the state.

The court also awarded a total cost of N400,000 against the Edo State Government and the Assembly.

Justice Omotosho had awarded the cost against the state AG and the state assembly in favour of Shaibu after the counsel to the state Attorney-General, Marvin Omorogbe, and that of the House of Assembly, Sonia Egbunia, stated their interest to withdraw the motions for stay of execution.

Egbunia had told the court that although the matter was slated for hearing, in view of the fact that the record of appeal had been transmitted to the Court of Appeal, she would be withdrawing the motion which they filed July 19, for stay, likewise Omorogbe who sought to withdraw their motion for stay filed on July 18.
Shuaibu’s counsel Reuben Egwuaba, who did not object to their withdrawal, urged the court to award a cost of N50m each against the AG and the state assembly.

He said, “We are not objecting to the application for withdrawal, however, we are asking for a cost of N50m each. Our reason for the substantial cost is that the order of your lordship on July 17 is so clear and it was a declaration order.”

The lawyer also said issues have been joined in the motion as the assembly and the AG knew that no stay of execution of such order could have been granted by the court.

He added that the assembly had been truncating the order of the court and that was what led to their filing of Form 48.

He also said the applicants were duly served with the court judgment but their motions were filed as a way to interfere with the cause of justice and to prevent Shaibu from benefitting from the fruit of his legal victory.

“We urge you to grant our prayer,” he appealed to the court.

Egbunia and Omorogbe objected to Egwuaba’s application for award of fines against them.
 While delivering ruling, Justice Omotosho held that he couldn’t grant the application for stay of execution as he earlier gave a judgment reinstating Shaibu and proceeded to strike out the suit, awarding N200, 000 each against the applicants.

Justice Omotosho, in a judgment on July 17, voided Shaibu’s impeachment as deputy governor of Edo State.

He ordered his reinstatement to office as he held that the state House of Assembly failed to comply with due process in the said impeachment.

He further held that the allegation on which the assembly based the impeachment proceedings was untenable in law and did not constitute a gross misconduct.