Edo Election Results: 'We Don’t Want To Hear Inconclusive' - Wike To INEC

The National Chairman of the Edo State Campaign Council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, says his party "don’t want to hear inconclusive" in respect of the Edo Election Results.

AllNews understands that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun announcing Edo Election Results and the PDP is leading the All Progressives Congress (APC) with 57,075 votes.

As at 5:50 am, INEC has declared results in 12 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Edo.

 “We have results from about 2,000 polling units from the various wards and from the intelligence we have gathered, I do believe that INEC will keep to that promise of being transparent," Wike said hours after the poll.

"But we are getting a bit worried that INEC said they have 700 unit results which is [sic] not correct and that calls for concern. We don’t believe that INEC has only 700. It is more than 2,000 that we have.

“Again, as we speak, they ought to have moved to the ward collation centres before they move to the local government collation centres. But we cannot find the security personnel around the ward collation centres and that gives us concern.

“Why is it that the security personnel are not at the ward collation centres? So, I urge the Inspector-General of Police to move his men to the ward collation centres.

“They must not allow miscreants to disrupt the electoral process. I believe that the commission will continue with what they have done.

“Like we have said, we don’t want this election to be inconclusive. This is the critical stage where you may see disruptions and then it will be declared inconclusive. INEC should fulfil its promise that this election will be transparent. We don’t want to hear inconclusive.”

READ ALSO: Latest Edo State Election News For Today Sun, 20th Of Sept 2020

Wike was speaking during an interview in the Edo 2020 Situation Room streamed on his party member, Governor Godwin Obaseki’s Youtube Channel and monitored by this reporter.

Edo election is apparently a straight fight between incumbent Obaseki of the PDP and Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC.

Edo Decides 2020: PDP wary of Osun Scenario

Recall that INEC during the governorship election in Osun state in 2018, declared the poll “inconclusive" despite  Ademola Adeleke, the PDP candidate winning the majority votes. Gboyega Oyetola, the APC flagbearer was subsequently announced winner.

The Election tribunal sitting in Abuja in March 2019 declared that Oyetola and the APC were not validly returned. Although, the Supreme Court later affirmed Oyetola as the authentic victor.

The main election was held on September 22, 2018, while a supplementary election was held on September 27, 2018, in seven polling units.

The electoral commission, INEC, declared Oyetola winner of the election after the supplementary poll.

Adeleke, who claimed he polled the highest number of votes in the election, asked the tribunal to cancel the victory of Oyetola and declare him the winner of the election.

The Osun tribunal ruled in Adeleke’s favour and declared him the winner of the election. In a split judgment of two to one, the tribunal ruled that INEC was wrong to have ordered a rerun election. It nullified the rerun.

The court also ruled that INEC did not comply with its guidelines on results from 17 polling units.

The tribunal then deducted the results of both parties from the declared total of votes in the affected 17 poling units.

According to the tribunal, the PDP won the election with 254,698 votes, while the APC came second with 253,452 votes.

The tribunal also said that the PDP would still have won the poll even if it had opted to validate the supplementary election.

But in a contrary opinion in May 2019, the Court of Appeal ruled that “the tribunal was in patent error when it set aside the rerun.”

The appellate court, which had also delivered its verdict in a split decision of four to one, ruled that the judge who issued the majority decision at the tribunal, Peter Obiora, was absent on February 6, 2019, when a major discussion on the issue of non-compliance was tabled before the tribunal; and could therefore not have viewed the issue squarely.

Apparently dissatisfied, Adeleke approached the Supreme Court which delivered its judgement in favour of the current Osun leader in July 2019.