The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has formally rejected the results of the Edo State governorship election, recently announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
At a press conference in Abuja, PDP acting National Chairman Umar Damagum urged concerned Nigerians to support the party’s stance against the election results. He asserted that the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, was the rightful winner and criticized the election process for failing to meet democratic standards.
“The PDP therefore unequivocally rejects the final result of the Edo State Governorship election as declared by INEC as it did not meet the minimum standard for democracy, having not reflected the expressed will and aspiration of the people,” Damagum stated, emphasizing the need for INEC to review the election results in accordance with the Electoral Act, 2022.
He announced that the party would take legal action to contest the results and called on Edo citizens to remain resilient. “From unfolding political events in the country, the latest being the brazen rigging of the Saturday, September 21, 2024, Edo State Governorship election by the All Progressives Congress (APC), it is clear that our democracy is under threat,” he said.
Read also: Ighodalo claims “brazen theft” of mandate in Edo election
Damagum further alleged that the election was compromised through collusion with security operatives and INEC officials. He pointed to specific individuals, stating, “You may recall that the PDP had on several occasions alerted of this sinister plot by the APC to subvert the election.”
He insisted that Ighodalo had been chosen by the people and that their will must be respected. “Nigerians and the world watched in horror as the APC-compromised security operatives and thugs unleashed terror, harassed, arrested and detained PDP members,” he said, accusing the APC of manipulating the electoral process to alter results in their favor.
Despite the violence and intimidation, Damagum claimed, “Results obtained from the Polling Units show that our candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo clearly won the election before the figures were altered at the State collation exercise.”
He called for solidarity from all Nigerians in rejecting what he termed an assault on democratic rights. When questioned about the party’s faith in the judiciary, Damagum responded, “In this election, we shall once again test the level of preparedness of the judiciary to deliver justice where it is needed.” He concluded with a stark warning: “They say that when the judicial system does not work, then you don’t have a country.”
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