 rigged the poll in favor of the All Progressives Congress (APC).){kind=link}
A few months after the September 21 governorship election in Edo State, former Minister of Aviation Osita Chidoka has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rigged the poll in favor of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
AFRIPOST had earlier today reported that the former Minister dumped the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
While speaking on Channels Television on Saturday, Chidoka described the election as a sham, accusing INEC of orchestrating a large-scale manipulation of results to undermine the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Citing specific data, Chidoka claimed that INEC inflated the number of accredited voters in 798 polling units by over 100,000. “Presiding officers recorded 580,000 accredited voters, yet INEC’s backend magically produced 687,000. This wasn’t an accident; it was deliberate tampering,” he said.
He further alleged that during collation, 11,665 votes were deducted from the PDP’s tally while 32,284 votes were illegally added to APC’s count. Chidoka also highlighted discrepancies between INEC’s certified results and the data uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
“Someone at INEC printed fake result sheets and wrote the outcome they wanted. This isn’t just incompetence; it’s fraud on a massive scale,” Chidoka declared.
He asserted that when invalid votes and manipulations were removed, the PDP candidate, Barr. Asue Ighodalo, emerged as the rightful winner. However, Chidoka stopped short of officially recognizing the results, describing the election as a travesty. “What happened in Edo wasn’t an election—it was a mockery of democracy. If this stands, there’s no point in holding elections in 2027.”
In a surprising turn, Chidoka announced his resignation from the PDP, stating his intention to focus on advocating for electoral reforms without the constraints of partisan politics. “Defending our democracy is my sole priority now,” he emphasized.
Chidoka’s claims have fueled widespread outrage, with many calling for judicial intervention. “INEC has betrayed public trust, and our democracy is on the brink. The courts must act to restore credibility to the electoral process,” he warned.