For the second consecutive day, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Edo State has denied the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, access to the Bimodal Voter Authentication System (BVAS) machines and other materials used in the September 21 governorship election.
Chairman of the Election Tribunal, Justice W. Kpoc, had granted the PDP and Ighodalo permission to inspect these materials on September 29. In response to the election outcome, hundreds of women in Edo took to the streets of Benin City yesterday, protesting what they claim was a rigged election in favor of the All Progressives Congress (APC) orchestrated by INEC.
On Monday, the legal team representing the PDP, led by Olusegun Jolaawo, SAN, visited INEC Headquarters in Benin City to access the BVAS machines, voters register, ballot papers, and other election materials to support their petition against alleged election rigging. Despite presenting a court order, they were denied access to the materials. After hours of waiting, INEC officials directed them to return on Tuesday for further permission from Abuja.
The team returned yesterday but was once again denied access to the materials. Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, described this refusal as a delay tactic by INEC, which he accused of colluding with the APC to obstruct justice and frustrate the PDP’s efforts to reclaim its mandate.
Nehikhare stated, “We are aware that the clandestine and surreptitious game plan is to frustrate the PDP appeal and ensure the petition is not filed before the Saturday deadline.” He further accused the APC of planning to burn the INEC office to destroy the BVAS machines and other electoral materials, thereby eliminating evidence of alleged electoral fraud.
Reassuring that the PDP would persist in exposing electoral theft and regaining its mandate, Nehikhare called on the police to secure the INEC office to prevent any planned attacks and to ensure enforcement of the court order allowing the PDP to inspect election materials.
Women Protest Election Outcome
The protesting women, sympathetic to the PDP, accused INEC and the police of complicity in the processes that led to the declaration of the APC candidate, Sen. Monday Okpebholo, as the election winner. Armed with placards bearing messages such as “Tinubu, tell INEC to return our mandate,” and “Edo PDP won the election, but INEC and police colluded to change it,” they chanted anti-Tinubu, anti-INEC, and anti-Oshiomhole slogans as they marched through the major streets of Benin City and the city center.