The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its Governors Forum have reaffirmed their support for the Chairman of the Edo State Governorship Election National Campaign Council, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State.
Fintiri had earlier declared that the PDP candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, had clearly won the governorship election in Edo State.
On Sunday, Fintiri criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for allegedly violating the Electoral Act. Meanwhile, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo, currently leads in the ongoing results collation, with Ighodalo following closely.
In a statement, the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, responded by sharing that Fintiri presented polling unit results showing Ighodalo in the lead. Ologunagba alleged that after this, the state collation process was manipulated by the APC in collaboration with some corrupt INEC and security officials, who altered and replaced authentic results with fabricated ones in favor of the APC candidate.
The statement from the PDP read, “The Peoples Democratic Party stands by the results collected by its polling agents across Edo State, which Governor Ahmadu Fintiri also referenced, indicating that Dr. Asue Ighodalo won the election.” It further accused the APC of attacking Fintiri to conceal their desperate attempts to manipulate the outcome and steal the mandate freely given to Ighodalo by the people of Edo State.
The PDP warned that any attempt to tamper with the election results and declare a defeated candidate as the winner would have serious consequences. “We caution the APC and INEC not to announce any results that do not reflect the true will of the people as expressed at the polling units,” the statement warned, adding that such actions could provoke widespread unrest in Edo State.
The party referenced the near-violent protests in Adamawa State when an attempt was made to alter the governorship election results in 2023, urging INEC not to repeat similar mistakes.
Meanwhile, the PDP Governors Forum, led by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, praised Edo voters for their participation in the election. The forum clarified that Governor Fintiri only shared already-collated results from certain local government areas, which were accessible on INEC’s IREV portal, to prevent manipulation and protect the integrity of the process.
The forum expressed confidence in the achievements of outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki and the appeal of PDP’s candidate, Ighodalo, stating that voters in Edo would have easily made the right choice. It also lauded the monitoring efforts of several PDP governors, including Governors Fintiri, Duoye Diri of Bayelsa, Agbu Kefas of Taraba, and Sherif Francis Oborevwori of Delta.
The PDP Governors Forum reiterated its commitment to democratic principles, urging INEC to announce results that truly reflect the will of the Edo electorate. It warned that announcing manipulated results could lead to political instability.
The forum also criticized the APC-led government for threatening democracy through undue influence over state institutions and reaffirmed its support for the actions of its governors in defending the integrity of the Edo election process.
 and its Governors Forum have reaffirmed their support for the Chairman of the Edo State Governorship Election National Campaign Council, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State.){kind=link}