PDP Heads for Tribunal to Challenge Obaseki's Victory

 

The Peoples Democratic Party on Monday said that it would challenge the outcome of the Edo State governorship election at the election petitions tribunal.

 

PDP supporters in the State alleged the election result is a far cry from the will of the people as it was rigged the INEC in collaboration with APC chieftains. There was a peaceful protest yesterday as some sympathisers stormed the streets to make bold statements.

It would be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission had last Thursday declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Godwin Obaseki, as the winner of the election.

According to the electoral umpire, Obaseki had a total of 319,483 votes while his counterpart in the PDP, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, polled 253,173 votes to come second.

The opposition had rejected the result, which it described as a fraud, and accused INEC of alleged complicity.

But the Edo State PDP Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, who disclosed this in a chat with The PUNCH in Benin, the Edo State capital, explained that the party would leave nothing to chance to prove that the result was manipulated and that it would also expose the alleged corruption and incompetence of the electoral commission.

He, therefore, called for the dissolution of the present leadership of the INEC.

Orbih said, “Of course, we are going to file our petition at the election petitions tribunal. We will give it our all. If nothing else, to expose to Nigerians how corrupt and incompetent INEC is, under its present leadership.

“Our lawyers are busy; they are working. Until they formally file a petition, all I can say is that we are going to challenge the result of this election at the tribunal.”

While stressing the role of the judiciary in upholding the tenet of democracy, he expressed confidence in its ability to give justice to Nigerians.