#EdoDecides2024: PDP alleges manipulation of polling unit result, seeks cancellation, INEC officer’s prosecution

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) polling officer for allegedly allocating non-existent votes to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the ongoing Edo State governorship election.

This was disclosed in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, Saturday evening.

The statement alleged that the INEC presiding officer at the said polling unit allocated unearned votes to the rival All Progressives Congress (APC), which it claimed resulted in the overall tally of votes surpassing the number of accredited votes.

“The election result sheet for Osholo Primary School Polling Unit, Weppa in Etsako East Local Government Area shows that whereas 213 voters were accredited, Obozuwa Josephine, criminally and fraudulently allocated 352 votes to the APC, 52 to the PDP and one to the LP, giving a total of 406 as votes cast.”

Mr Ologunagba said the electoral officer’s shocking allocation of 352 unearned votes to the APC, exceeding the 213 accredited voters in the polling unit, raises serious concerns about her impartiality and integrity of the electoral body.

He added that the act bears disturbing similarities to the infamous misconduct of Hudu Ari, former Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, who was implicated in electoral malpractices during the 2023 governorship election in Adamawa State.

The party reminded the presiding officer of the unit that illicit actions may have severe repercussions, mirroring the fallout from similar electoral malpractices.

The PDP said the conduct fits into a part of a broader pattern of electoral fraud, ballot manipulation, and betrayal of public trust perpetrated by the APC and compromised INEC officials, which must be held accountable and brought to justice.

“Nigerians can recall that the PDP had on several occasions alerted that the APC had compromised the INEC system by planting APC members as Polling Officers to manipulate the electoral process and alter results in favour of the APC,” the statement added.

The party therefore demanded that INEC should arrest and prosecute the official in question. It also called for the cancellation of the election in Osholo Primary School Polling Unit and take steps to address other such infractions in the electoral process.

“Our Party again commends the people of Edo State for their vigilance and urges them to remain resilient till the end,” it said. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it will investigate an allegation of wrong figures entered into polling unit result sheets in the ongoing Edo state governorship election.

The Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, and APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, did take PREMIUM TIMES’ calls seeking their comments on the issue on Saturday.

Meanwhile, INEC has said it would investigate an allegation of wrong entering of figures into polling unit result sheets in the state.

In a post on its X handle on Saturday, INEC said it had so far received such complaints from two out of the 4,519 polling units in the state.

ALSO READ: #EdoDecides2024: INEC to probe ‘wrong figures’ entered into polling unit result sheets

It is not clear if PDP’s complaint is one of the two that INEC vowed to investigate.

“The commission will immediately investigate the matter and deal with any proven infraction,” the commission said in its tweet.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that 17 parties are participating in the governorship election. However, three parties – the APC, PDP, and Labour Party – are believed to be the main contenders.