Results of Edo Governorship Election 2024 Deemed Manipulated, Details Emerge

• Yiaga Africa has condemned the results of the Edo state governorship election conducted on Saturday, September 21
• Legit.ng reports that Yiaga Africa asserted that the election failed the electoral integrity test
• The civil society group, therefore, called for the arrest and prosecution of some electoral officers who allegedly altered figures while collating results

Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 9 years of experience covering politics and elections in Nigeria.

Benin City, Edo state - A prominent civil society organisation, Yiaga Africa, on Monday, September 23, said the results of the Edo governorship election 2024 were manipulated.

Legit.ng reports that Yiaga Africa was one of the accredited observers of the off-cycle governorship election in Edo state on Saturday, September 21.

INEC had announced Monday Okpebholo, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Edo governorship election on Sunday, September 22.

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Okpebholo won the election with 291,667 votes to defeat his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 247,274 votes.

Olumide Akpata, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), came a distant third with 22,763 votes.

The APC won the election in 11 of the 18 LGAs in Edo, while the PDP secured victories in the remaining seven LGAs.

But in a fresh statement, Yiaga Africa said it deployed the process and results verification for transparency (PRVT) methodology for the election, involving 300 stationary and 25 roving observers, covering a representative sample of polling units (PUs) across all 18 local government areas (LGAs). In the end, the organisation said it found alterations.

Yiaga Africa's statement partly reads:

“Based on reports from 287 of 300 (96%) sampled polling units, Yiaga Africa’s statistical analysis shows inconsistencies in the official results announced by INEC."

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It added:

“These inconsistencies with Yiaga Africa’s PRVT estimates indicate that the results were altered at the level of collation.

“The disparities between the official results released by INEC and Yiaga Africa’s PRVT estimates indicate manipulation of results during the collation process.

“Yiaga Africa strongly condemns the actions of some biased INEC officials who altered figures during collation including the actions of some security officials who interfered with the collation process."

Read Yiaga Africa's full statement below:

Edo: Expert expresses worry over YIAGA's claims

Meanwhile, a social commentator, Femi Bolaji, said Yiaga's "is a source of worry".

Speaking with Legit.ng, Bolaji expressed hope that future elections in Nigeria will be “free, fair and credible”.

He said:

“There was a great improvement in terms of security because there was little or no case of ballot box snatching. However, the report of independent observers is a source of worry.

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"We hope INEC in subsequent elections would do more, especially in voter education and mobilisation of voters because there is still voter empathy and INEC need to reassure electorate to trust the electoral body to conduct a free, fair and credible election."

Obaseki fumes as INEC announces APC winner

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo appealed to residents to remain calm after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Okpebholo as the winner of the state's 2024 governorship election.

Obaseki, whose preferred candidate Ighodalo, lost, insisted that the election was marred with disregard for processes and the rule of law.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng