Skip to main content

Protests herald collation of Edo guber poll results

PDP supporters protesting in Benin

PDP supporters protesting in Benin

Jethro Ibileke/Benin

Hundreds of angry youths believed to be loyal to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), went on the rampage this morning at the premises of the Independent National Electoral Commission, even while the collation of the election results wasongoing.

Trouble started shortly after INEC has announced the results of nine on the 18 local government areas, in which the All Progressives Congress (APC), won five while the People Democratic Party (PDP) got four.

Not long after the Commission’s official announced a break to resume by 12 noon, the youths in their hundred stormed the gate with placards, saying that the election was rigged by INEC in favour of the APC.‎

Earlier, as soon as the result of Oredo local government area was announced, which was won by the APC, with 37,612 votes against PDP’s 30,492, one of the PDP representatives at the collation centre in the INEC premises whose identity could not be verified as at press time, accused the electoral officer of manipulating the election results.

The PDP man declared that all results of the election posted on social media by about 2pm on the election day, indicated that the PDP won the election.

Some of the protesters who spoke to our correspondent, also insisted that results posted on social media on election day indicated that the PDP won the election.

They accused the Commission of manipulating the result of the election in favour of the APC.

One of them who gave his name simply as Osamede, said: “As at yesterday afternoon, results were on social media that PDP won the election. We would not accept the result of the election.”

Meanwhile, the protest almost turned violent when the Senator representing Edo South, Matthew Uroghide stormed INEC office and insisted on driving into the premises in his tinted Hummer bus with the protesting youths filing behind his bus.

It took the intervention of the police who shot several canisters of teargas into the air to disperse the youths.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg...

Houthis Claim Attack on Central Israel in Response to Gaza ‘Massacres’

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has taken a concerning regional turn as the Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for an attack on central Israel. The group announced this as part of their escalating response to what they describe as "massacres" in Gaza amid the Israeli military’s operations in the strip. Details of the Attack The Houthis, a Shiite militant group with ties to Iran, declared that they launched missile and drone strikes targeting Israel. While the exact impact of these attacks remains unclear, reports suggest that Israel’s defense systems intercepted several threats over its airspace. This marks a significant escalation as the Houthis widen their involvement in the conflict beyond their typical operations within Yemen and neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Houthis’ Justification In their statement, the Houthis framed the attack as retaliation for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which they characterized as indiscriminate bombings resultin...

Fire: UniJos Senate convenes emergency meeting on Monday

Fire at the University of Jos Library University of Jos is to convene an emergency senate meeting on Monday to review the level of damage done to the institution by the Saturday night inferno. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sebastian Maimako, disclosed this on Sunday after inspecting areas affected by the incident. The fire, which lasted for more than six hours, destroyed the Library Complex that equally houses the faculties of management and social sciences. The fire also destroyed examination scripts, books and very crucial materials. Consequently, the vice-chancellor said “the Senate will meet tomorrow (Monday) to take a decision about the unmarked examination scripts that were burnt.” On the cause of the inferno, Maimako said investigation had commenced, adding that “nothing has been confirmed yet. We are still investigating.” The vice chancellor said the school was already working with federal authorities toward establishing a main fire station since the mini fire station in t...