The PDP’s candidate for governor of Edo State, Asue Ighodalo, has claimed that the anomalies in the Edo election began at the LG collation centre when the APC realised they had lost. He emphasised how police officers forced the collations to move to the INEC office by infiltrating the collation centres, driving out agents.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
He lamented that despite identifying himself as a candidate, he was denied entry to the INEC office, while APC agents and policemen moved freely in and out. He stated that the exclusion of PDP agents from the collation process and the unimpeded access granted to their APC counterparts constitute a grave violation of democratic principles. He argued that the implications of such actions are far-reaching and pernicious, as they undermine the very fabric of Nigeria’s democratic system.
He said in an interview with TVC, ‘The problem started at the LG collation center, when it was clear to the APC that they lost the election. And so, you saw policemen going into collation centers at local government level, sending everybody out of the collation agents, and then insisting that all the collations should be moved to the INEC office. You jump two steps in the process, and going by electoral law and the guidelines, that’s not the process. And worse still, they moved all the collation into the INEC office, and they did not allow the PDP collation agents to be represented. APC agents went in and out of the INEC office, PDP agents couldn’t go in. I went to the INEC office, and they didn’t let me in, and I introduced myself as a candidate. So, if nobody else has a right to be at the collation center, I have a right to be there. But they didn’t let me in, my Deputy came with me, and they didn’t let us in as well.
But I was standing there, and I saw APC agents, including policemen, going in and out. The sad part of this whole thing is this: anybody that captures INEC and captures the police has captured the Nigerian state. That means that the people of this country do not have a right to choose their leaders, regardless of what the leaders do. So, all you need to do, like some people have now done, is wait and capture the police, and capture some rogue elements in INEC. So, when other people are out campaigning, and convincing people why they should vote for you, presenting your manifesto, spending all day and nights, talking to farmers, and talking to market people, some other people just wait for you, and they spend their time capturing rogue elements in the police force, and capturing rogue elements in INEC.”CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
