The Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) released a report on 27th of January 2025, alleging widespread manipulation of the Edo State governorship election results, held on September 21st, 2024. The report claims the election was influenced to secure victory for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo. The accusations encompass various irregularities, including voter suppression, violence, and the alteration of results, implicating both the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Specific Allegations of Irregularities
The FIJ report details numerous instances of alleged electoral manipulation across several Local Government Areas (LGAs):
- Etsako West LGA: The report highlights discrepancies in the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the collation results. The APC reportedly received 32,107 votes compared to the PDP’s 17,483 votes. The CTC was flagged as a “Replacement Copy” and lacked the standard INEC stamp.
- Oredo LGA: The report alleges the alteration of results in 53 polling units (PUs), favoring the APC. Specifically, 52 PUs in Ward 2 and one in Ward 3 were affected.
- Ikpoba Okha LGA: The report points to inconsistencies between the EC8B collated results and both the CTC and IReV data in 18 PUs of Ward 10. These inconsistencies allegedly favored the APC.
- Other LGAs: The report further claims inflated APC results and reduced PDP votes in various polling units across Egor, Akoko Edo, Esan West, Esan South East, Ovia North East, and Orhionmwon LGAs, and Etsako East LGA. The report quantifies these discrepancies, claiming significant vote inflation for the APC and deflation for the PDP across multiple wards and polling units. The report calculates a significant difference between the reported and actual results.
- Auchi Council Hall Incident: The collation process at the Auchi Council Hall was reportedly disrupted by gunfire in the early hours of September 22nd, leading to the loss of crucial electoral documents.
Allegations of Systemic Manipulation
The FIJ report goes beyond individual incidents, alleging a systemic effort to manipulate the election:
- Voter Suppression: The report alleges that APC stakeholders engaged in voter suppression tactics in areas with strong opposition support.
- INEC Influence: The report claims that the APC exerted influence over INEC officials, leading to result alteration during the collation process.
- BVAS Non-Compliance: Despite the mandatory use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for electronic result transmission, the report highlights numerous polling units where manual collation occurred, enabling potential manipulation.
Responses and Legal Challenges
The APC and INEC have denied the allegations. However, the PDP’s governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo, described the election as “the worst in the history of the country,” echoing the FIJ report’s findings. The PDP has filed a legal petition challenging the election results, citing violations of the Electoral Act and the widespread irregularities detailed in the FIJ report.
