By Divine Sam
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected allegations from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors that the 2024 Edo State governorship election was rigged to favor the All Progressives Congress (APC). The PDP governors claimed that electoral irregularities, including the manipulation of results, prevented their candidate, Asue Ighodalo, from winning. They also accused INEC of rigging the recent Ondo election to benefit the APC.
In response, Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, dismissed the allegations as “unfortunate and inappropriate,” emphasizing that INEC is a law-abiding body and cannot comment on ongoing court matters. He criticized the PDP governors for making public accusations without evidence, urging them to present their claims in court, as they had already filed a petition at the election tribunal regarding the Edo election. Oyekanmi also defended the conduct of the Ondo election, calling it one of the best INEC had organized and urging political parties to accept election outcomes in the spirit of sportsmanship.
In the Edo election, INEC declared APC’s Monday Okpebholo the winner with 291,667 votes, defeating PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, who secured 247,274 votes. Similarly, in Ondo, INEC announced Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the APC as the winner, defeating PDP’s Agboola Ajayi.
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