Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Edo governorship election, didn’t hold back in calling out what he described as a total disaster of an election. According to him, this election might just go down as the “worst in the history of this country.” And honestly, who could argue with him after hearing his list of complaints?
During a heated press conference at the PDP Situation Room in Benin City, Ighodalo painted a sad picture of electoral malpractice, with PDP agents allegedly being barred from entering the collation centre, a red flag for any democracy that claims to be credible.
According to him, this wasn’t just a slip-up; it was a calculated assault on fairness. “From our perspective, the way these elections are going, they’re probably going to be the worst elections in the history of this country,” Ighodalo fumed.
If that wasn’t alarming enough, he dropped another one, there were over 20 polling units where the number of total votes somehow surpassed the number of accredited voters. Now, let that sink in, votes magically appearing out of thin air! Ighodalo questioned the credibility of these results and slammed the process as a clear violation of electoral standards.
“We have information… over 20 polling units where the accredited voters are less than the total votes, which is not possible,” he stated. “This is totally unacceptable. There’s a result-writing scheme going on, and it’s unacceptable.” His use of the term “result-writing scheme” wasn’t just a slip of the tongue; it was a pointed accusation, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
But the irregularities didn’t stop there. Ighodalo highlighted that PDP agents were being systematically disenfranchised, blocked from participating in the collation process.
And as if things couldn’t get any worse, he accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) and their hired thugs, often dressed as security personnel, of outright violence. According to him, these thugs were going around shooting at polling agents and disrupting voting processes. “This is not acceptable in the 21st century,” Ighodalo declared, clearly disgusted by the state of affairs.
As if Nigeria hasn’t had enough of its fair share of electoral chaos, Ighodalo lamented that it seems the country is still stuck in an era of crude electoral manipulation, where thuggery and vote-rigging are the norm. In a country that prides itself on democracy, one might expect elections to be free, fair, and transparent, but alas, here we are.
This situation should give anyone who cares about Nigeria’s democratic future pause. Ighodalo’s frustrations are valid, and his accusations are chilling. Whether or not these claims will be taken seriously is another matter altogether. But one thing is certain, something stinks about this election, and if things don’t change, Nigeria’s electoral credibility could be on its last leg.
