The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as stipulated by the Constitution and the 2022 Election Act, is the sole body authorized to declare the results of the Edo State gubernatorial election. Despite this clear mandate, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sparked controversy by releasing its own version of the election results ahead of INEC’s official announcement.
On Sunday, in a surprising move, PDP governors, including Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, held a press conference where they presented what they claimed to be the official results from various polling stations and local governments across Edo State. The timing of this announcement was significant, as it came just before INEC was scheduled to commence the collation of results at its central Collation Centre in Benin City.
During the press conference, Fintiri, who was accompanied by the PDP’s governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, claimed that the figures they were presenting were already in the public domain. He emphasized that his intention was not to usurp the authority of the electoral commission.
“I am not usurping the powers of the electoral umpire,” Fintiri stated during the briefing. “I did not announce results; I merely informed the public of the exact figures reported by our collation agents before INEC interrupted the process. If there is any violation of the Electoral Act, it should be directed at INEC, not at me,” he added.
As of the latest update from Gistreel, INEC had not yet commenced the official collation of the governorship election results from Saturday’s polls in Edo State, leaving many awaiting the official declaration.
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