The Accord Party has publicly rejected the Edo State governorship election results, alleging that excessive human interference marred the process.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday, Onabulele, the AP Candidate, voiced his concerns over the way the election was conducted, despite acknowledging that the exercise was largely peaceful.
The election, held on Saturday, saw Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) emerge victorious with 291,667 votes. The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, followed closely behind with 247,274 votes, while the Labour Party’s (LP) Olumide Akpata placed third with 22,763 votes.
While Dr. Onabulele expressed no objection to Okpebholo’s victory, his dissatisfaction stemmed from the integrity of the electoral process itself.
He said, “I don’t have any problem with the winner of the election. I have problems with the way the election was conducted, particularly with the process. The provisions of our elections are designed to ensure that the voices of the people are protected.
“The electoral process determines whether there will be corruption in the land. If the process is not streamlined and not correctly followed, we end up electing someone who shouldn’t be there.
“There is a difference between peace and credibility. Just because the election was peaceful does not mean it was credible. A lot went wrong during the election due to human interference. We are in the 21st century, and such things should not be happening.”
Onabulele called for less human interference in the electoral process to make elections more credible in the country.
He said, “The process should be protected from human interference. When there is too much interference, we elect the wrong people, inviting corruption. Bad governance starts with how we elect our leaders, and last Saturday showed me that we have not progressed as a country in terms of election conduct.
“There was a system in place to ensure that this election would not require human interference — BVAS and IREV. I had a chance to be in line and was profiled. There was proper identification; my photograph was taken, and I went into the booth, picked up the slip, thumbprinted it, and dropped it in the box. But when the result from my local government was released, where I also voted, I was recorded as having zero votes. What happened after I voted? That’s the question INEC must answer.
“I see a lot of disparity in this election, and I believe INEC should be held accountable. This election is about the future, not just today. History will judge us. I’m not here because of a power struggle. I’m here today to say that if I fail, let me fail correctly, and if I win, let me win correctly.”
