Several senior career staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have come forward, accusing political appointees within the commission of manipulating the results of the recently concluded Edo State governorship election in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC)......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
According to the insiders, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) actually won the election, but the results were altered under the supervision of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Anugbum Onuoha.
The INEC staff, who spoke under the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, claimed that the manipulation took place at the state INEC office, where results from polling units and collation centres were reportedly tampered with.
“The results were changed at the collation stage under the REC’s supervision, even though PDP had a clear lead in many areas,” one senior official revealed.
The career staff detailed a chilling atmosphere of threats and intimidation throughout the election process.
According to them, Onuoha threatened staff members with arrest by the Department of State Security (DSS) and termination of employment if they refused to cooperate in altering the election outcome.
One staff, who had direct knowledge of the situation, stated, “We were told in no uncertain terms that if we did not follow instructions, DSS would be called in, and our jobs would be on the line.”
This high-pressure environment, the staffers claim, forced many to comply with directives against their will.
“The fear of losing your livelihood is a very powerful motivator,” said another INEC official, who added: “It’s difficult to fight back when you’re being told that security forces will be used against you.”
The INEC career officers insist that PDP candidate Asue Ighodalo won the majority of votes cast in the election.
However, during the collation process, the results were allegedly altered to give victory to APC candidate Senator Monday Okpebholo, who was declared the winner with 291,667 votes against Ighodalo’s 247,274.
“We saw the original results from the polling units, and PDP was ahead in most of the local government areas, especially in the central and southern parts of the state,” another INEC official explained.
“But when the results got to the state office for collation, everything changed. APC’s numbers increased dramatically, and PDP’s votes were reduced,” she added.
Staff members further revealed that Onuoha held private meetings with select political actors from the APC before the collation began, raising suspicions about his neutrality.
“It was obvious to us that external forces were influencing the process,” an electoral officer involved in the collation revealed.
“The REC was more interested in securing the result for APC than ensuring the will of the people was upheld,” he added.
Civil society organizations and opposition parties are urging INEC to review the election results and investigate the role of Onuoha in the alleged manipulation.
The PDP has already indicated that it will be challenging the outcome of the election in court.