Fact Check: Is it True That PDP Has Won Edo Governorship Election 2024?
- As of Saturday evening, September 21, voting has ended in the Edo governorship election 2024
- Results are trickling in as expertly monitored and reported by Nigeria's most popular digital media platform, Legit.ng
- Amid a viral claim on Saturday, September 21, that the PDP has officially won the election, Legit.ng checked if it is true
Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 4 years of experience in fact-checking.
Benin City, Edo state - A purported Edo election result (by local government areas) in circulation strongly insinuated that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the 2024 governorship poll in the state.
Legit.ng reports that genuine results from dozens of polling units (PUs) have surfaced on the IReV. However, it is not immediately clear when organisers of the off-cycle election — the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) — will officially announce the results.
Source: Facebook
The viral screenshot attributing victory to the PDP in the 2024 election has the logo of the online Nigerian newspaper, Premium Times. The claim, which started circulating on Saturday afternoon, September 21, suggested that the PDP triumphed in 13 local government areas (LGAs) of Edo while the APC won the remaining five.
See a sample via X below:
But reacting via a disclaimer on Saturday night, September 21, the media platform pointed out that the alleged local government results attributed to it as the source was lifted from the official results of the 2020 Edo state governorship election.
Premium Times, therefore, branded the widely-circulated 2024 'Edo election result' "completely false".
Legit.ng reports that as of the time of this report at 10:15 pm, INEC has yet to begin collation of results from the 18 local government areas for the 2024 Edo state governorship election.
Also, the main activities at the INEC collation centre in the Edo state capital, Benin, have not kicked off. The arena is only filled with journalists and election observers who are awaiting the start of the results' formal announcement process by the electoral umpire.
Edo election result: Verdict on viral claim
Social media claims that the PDP has won Edo’s 2024 governorship election are false. The cited post is a 2020 report.
Nigerians are advised to keep tabs on INEC.
Asue Ighodalo wins own polling unit
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Ighodalo won in his polling unit in Saturday’s election.
Ighodalo, a lawyer, is a registered voter at polling unit 003 in his hometown, Ewohimi community. He polled 200 votes out of the 246 votes cast.
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Source: Legit.ng
