By Kingston Magare
Edo State deputy governor Philip Shaibu cannot hide his excitement about the outcoming of the Edo State governorship elections held last Saturday.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared the All-Progressives Congress candidate Monday Okpebholo as winner in the elections marred by allegations of vote buying and rewriting of figures in favour of the APC candidate.
INEC stated that Okpebholo, a serving senator, scored 291,667 votes, while the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Asue Ighodalo got 247,274 votes.
Speaking on the development Shaibu who had a long running feud with Governor Godwin Obaseki, said: “Where is the governor’s result? He has never won. We have always assisted him. But unfortunately, he got the power, and he started kicking us and removing the ladder.
“It is very unfortunate. I hope he learns his lessons. And what is left for him now is to go back and start begging and apologising to the people of Edo state. He has a lot of them that he needs to apologise to.
“We were 10 (persons) that contested the primary, and out of the 10, he told us to go to hell. The last time I counted, it was 618 key leaders that left PDP for APC.
“I really feel vindicated, and I thank God for it. I am so excited, and I am happy that I am counted among the number of persons that helped APC to regain government house in Edo state. I am so excited,” he said.
However, PDP said the election was tinted; Adamawa State governor Ahmadu Fintiri said in a statement.
“I weep for Nigeria’s democracy after witnessing the shameful Edo Gubernatorial poll. The @OfficialAPCNg’s desperate attempts to discredit me by falsely claiming I announced results won’t distract from the real issue. I merely shared results from INEC’s Irev portal, as collated by INEC from the various Local Government Areas,” said Mr. Fintiri.
“What’s truly shameful is APC’s national chairman flying into Edo with a private jet on election day, defying movement restrictions, while their Governors used armoured escorts to intimidate voters. This blatant disregard for democratic norms is the real brigandage. Nigerians are outraged, slamming @inecnigeria for compromising and favouring APC.
“The reported vote-buying, disruption of collation processes, and suspicious results with more votes than accredited voters undermine trust in our democracy. Democracy indeed is under attack. We must condemn this rape of democracy and demand accountability. The world is watching, and Nigeria deserves better.”
