The Edo State branch of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has formally filed a petition challenging the results of the September 21 gubernatorial election.
The announcement was made by the party’s national chairman, Tony Agiegbemi, at a press conference in Benin on Monday.
Mr. Agiegbemi disclosed that the PDP successfully beat the deadline for filing the appeal, saying, “against all expectations, we were able to file the petition.”
In the results of the governorship election held on September 21, 2024, All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Mr. Monday Okpebolo secured 291,667 votes and Ighodalo Asue Ighodalo of PDP secured 247,274 votes. He became the victor by defeating Mr.
Following Okpebolo’s declaration as winner, the PDP accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and APC of trying to violate its right to challenge the election results in court.
The party cited serious irregularities and discrepancies in the election results as the basis for its petition.
In response, the APC derided the PDP move, arguing that the opposition lacked a pre-existing mandate.
Tensions between the two parties escalated last week when members of both the PDP and APC gathered at the party secretariat in Benin to make claims and counter-claims of attempts to distort election materials.
Mr Agiegbemi assured PDP members and supporters that the party remains committed to reclaiming its “stolen mission”.
He called on the people of Edo State to remain hopeful, insisting that no amount of obstruction will stop the party from winning the case.
He said, “We have filed a petition on your behalf in the Election Petitions Tribunal and we assure you that the journey to reclaim our mission has begun and by the grace of God your mission will be restored.
“Despite the attempts of INEC (the political wing of the APC) to deny us the full complement of our demands for CTC of all election materials, we were still able to do what was necessary. .”
Mr Ajiegbemi also denied that the PDP obstructed the inspection of election materials at the INEC office.
He further added, “How did the PDP obstruct the inspection of materials at the INEC office? Whose interest is the confusion? We applied to the court for inspection and the court issued the registered inspection order. Granted, why would you want to interrupt the process?”
Mr. Agiegbemi disclosed that more party members were arrested after the election, adding that those arrested for the murder of Inspector Akol Onu were released on bail.
He further said, “You may recall that the police were arresting our members on false charges of killing SP Akol.Surprisingly, more arrests occurred after the elections.
“How low can the police go under this clearly biased IGP who appears to be heading the armed wing of the APC?”
Reacting, the Public Relations Secretary of the APC, Peter Uwadeye Igbinigyi, said the PDP had no existing powers that were stolen, pointing out that it should not say much as it cannot be party to the incident. At the same time, he said: judgement.
APC, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Peter Uwadeye Igbinigi, said: “There is no existing mission in the PDP that has been stolen.Isn’t it an existing mission that they steal?
“It is the Independent National Electoral Commission that conducts elections in the country and announces the winners. It is the same INEC that announced APC as the winner of the September 21 gubernatorial election in the state.
“When did they get the stolen missions? Where did they get the votes to give them the missions they’re talking about?
“They need to remain silent now because this case is in the hands of the judiciary. They have appeared in court. They cannot become parties to the case and make decisions on their own matters.
“We should let the courts do their job, to find out who won and who didn’t. We’re going to confront them head-on in the courts.”
