Founder of Athena Centre and ex-Aviation Minister, Osita Chidoka while presenting the Centre’s findings on the Edo State election on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, stated that there was substantial evidence of systemic rigging .
Athena Centre a non-profit organisation, Athena Centre indicted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the conduct of the September 21 Edo State governorship election.
The organisation which conducted a review on the election which produced the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo, as governor of the South-South state, claimed that it was compromised.
Okpebholo polled 291, 667 votes to beat his closest contender, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 247, 274 votes.
Chidoka said on the program, “We cannot call the results because the systemic rigging observed in this election is so strong.”
We believe that this election should not be halted because of the substantial evidence of systemic rigging. If this stands, then there is no election in 2027″.
He expressed his shock at the election-related impact on an organization like INEC.
The former minister claimed that voter accreditation practices were inconsistent and that the election was not transparent.
He also alleged that there were ward collation centers where there was abuse of votes and that there was a lack of communication between the BVAS accreditation record and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
He claimed that there were no results from 153 polling stations because they had not been accounted for.
He came to the conclusion that the election in Edo State cannot be deemed credible because the umpire significantly interfered with the electoral process.
Leaving politics
Chidoka announced on the program that he had quit his position with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to concentrate on reforming the electoral system in Nigeria.
I formally resigned from the PDP by sending a letter to my ward in Anambra State earlier today. I am leaving the PDP, I am leaving politics for some time, I am focusing on the Athena Centre”, Chidoka said on the programme.
Source:234radio.com
