By KINGSLEY OHENS

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council for the Edo State Governorship Election has protested the illegal interruption of collation of the governorship election result, accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of not abiding by its own rules.

Addressing a World Press Conference Sunday morning at the PDP Situation Room in Government House, GRA, Benin City, Chairman of the Campaign Council and Governor of Adamawa State, Rt Hon Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, said the process was violently interrupted and it is unacceptable to the PDP with a comfortable lead. He insisted that the sudden interruption was a ploy to tamper with the results and that is unacceptable to the ruling party in the state.

?The collation process was violently interrupted in several local government areas across the state. In Edo South, local government collation processes were stopped in Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha, and Egor and moved illegally to the State Headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Benin on the instructions of an Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in complete breach of the statutory collation process.

?Furthermore, the affected Party Agents and representatives were then ordered to converge on the INEC State Headquarters in Aduwawa, Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area for the completion of the collation exercise. But upon arrival, agents of the PDP were not allowed into INEC State Office for the exercise. On the other hand, agents of the APC were allowed unfettered access into the INEC premises to participate in the collation process. This was also in breach of the Electoral Act section on neutrality as well as the rules and regulations published for these elections.

?Please note that at about 9pm senior party officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) accompanied by the police stormed the Etsako West Local Government collation center and began shooting indiscriminately. As a result of the attack the council Vice Chairman, Honorable Benji Ojetu was left in critical condition from a shooting injury. Because of this assault, the expected results from Wards 7 and 11 were not delivered.

?Note also that at the INEC state office a 2km-long garrison barricade was created by the Police to cordon-off access, thereby restricting movement in the area. It took the protest of Governor Godwin Obaseki to make an entry into the State INEC office and register the displeasure of the PDP with the irregularities of the collation process.

?At the point of the truncation of the collation exercise, these are the results that have been collated:

Esan Central: APC - 8,618, PDP - 10,990; Esan North East: APC - 10,648, PDP - 12,522; Esan South East: APC - 8,398, PDP - 14,199; Esan West: APC - 12,952, PDP - 11,004; Igueben: APC - 5,407, PDP - 8,470; Etsako Central: APC - 10,990, PDP - 8,618; Orhionmwon: APC - 16,059, PDP -16,614; Ovia North East: APC - 13,225, PDP - 15,311; Ovia South West: APC - 10,150, PDP - 10,260; Owan West: APC - 12,277, PDP - 11,284; Owan East: APC - 19,380, PDP - 14,189; Uhumwonde: APC - 8,673, PDP - 9,339.

?We hereby demand for a restoration of the collation process in accordance with the Electoral Act and the INEC rules and regulation for this election. Any other illegal and unlawful actions going forward will be a violation of the will of the people and an abuse of the Electoral Act 2022 and unacceptable,? he stated.

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