Edo PDP Supporters Protest At INEC Office, Demand Reversal Of Results

Supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State staged a protest on Wednesday at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Benin City, calling for the reversal of the recently announced results of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.

The protesters, wielding placards and dressed in PDP insignia, insisted that their party’s candidate, Asue Ighodalo, had won the election, not Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as declared by INEC.

The protesters asked the electoral body to give them back their mandate, which they claimed belongs to the candidate of the PDP.

INEC had announced that Okpebholo, 54, secured 291,667 votes to defeat Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes. Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) finished third with 22,763 votes, with fourteen other candidates receiving significantly fewer votes.

Ighodalo, along with Akpata, has rejected the election results, alleging widespread vote-buying by the APC, a claim that the ruling party has firmly denied.

The PDP candidate has vowed to challenge the outcome of the poll in court, seeking justice for what he described as an unfair process.

The protest reflects the rising tensions in Edo State following the governorship election, as political parties and their supporters await the next steps in what could be a prolonged legal battle.