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...

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks. The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal. It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation. A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels. The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or pu...

Man docked for defiling 9-year-old girl

magistrate-court A 33-year-old man, Godwin Otobo, was on Monday docked at a Surulere Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos.For allegedly defiling a nine-year-old girl, ‎Otobo, who lives at No. 10, Borrow Pit St., Sangotedo-Ajah area of Lagos, was said to have defiled the underage girl whose parents also reside in the same compound. The Prosecutor, Sgt. Anthonia Osayande, told the court that the accused committed the offence at about 9.00 p.m. sometimes in September. “The accused defiled the girl in the night when she was fetching water.‎ “The offence contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011,’’ Osayande told the court. The accused pleaded not guilty to the one-count charge of defilement. Ruling on a bail application filed by the accused, Chief Magistrate Ipaye Nwachukwu, granted him bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum. She said one of the sureties must be a property owner in Lagos State, while the other must be a civil servant on grade...