The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has made a bold accusation against the All Progressives Congress (APC), claiming they have hatched a scheme to rig the upcoming 2024 Edo State governorship election. According to the PDP, the APC plans to bring in fake technical staff from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to manipulate the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) and skew the results in their favor.
During a press conference in Benin, Tony Aziegbemi, the PDP Chairman in Edo State, alleged that the APC failed to meet the basic requirements for uploading party agents in a majority of polling units across the state. “To our amazement, the APC did not meet the requirement in 3,037 polling units and in 17 local governments, which means the APC has polling agents in only 1,482 polling units and one local government agent,” Aziegbemi declared. “The PDP uploaded polling agents in 4,378 polling units but could not meet the requirements in 141 polling units.”
He went on to question the credibility of the APC, saying, “A party that cannot upload its polling unit agents in two-thirds of the polling units cannot be trusted with power in our state. We demand that no political party be allowed to correct this anomaly.”
Aziegbemi further escalated his claims, warning of a sinister plot by the APC to use fake INEC staff posing as technical staff to tamper with the BVAS machines on election day. “We demand that INEC publish in good time the names and pictures of all appointed RTECs for the election and their postings,” he insisted, urging the electoral body to take preemptive action.
The PDP, through its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, called on INEC to “firmly resist the plot by the APC to smuggle in unaccredited polling and collation agents after the APC failed to meet the deadline stipulated by the Electoral Act, 2022, and INEC guidelines for the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State.” Ologunagba argued that these actions only confirm that the APC and its candidate, Monday Okpebholo, are not genuinely interested in a fair democratic process but are instead looking to manipulate the election against the will of the Edo people.
In response to these accusations, Kazeem Afegbua, the Media Director of the APC Campaign Council, dismissed the PDP’s claims as baseless. He countered, “The PDP has just told the public what they are planning to do, but the bad news is that we are monitoring them bumper to bumper. There is no escape route for Governor Obaseki and his godson, Asue Ighodalo.”
Afegbua took a swipe at Governor Obaseki, accusing him of bringing in “hackers and cloners” to tamper with the BVAS machines and clone the APC candidate’s voice. He further criticized the governor for allegedly using state funds for political theatrics, such as bringing popular musician Rema for a show. “He should be advised to stay away from the dubious politics of Governor Obaseki and instead focus on his flourishing music career,” Afegbua added. “Our market women need help; use such monies to help them.”
As the accusations fly back and forth, the call for INEC and security agencies to ensure a credible election on September 21 grows louder, with both parties accusing each other of plotting to subvert the democratic process. The stage is set for a contentious election, with the integrity of the electoral process hanging in the balance.
