Edo Election: INEC Has Done Well, Says Gov Wike Edo Election: Oshiomhole Reveals ‘Only Disappointment'
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, on Saturday, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for the peaceful conduct of the Edo governorship election.
Wike made the commendation while addressing journalists at the Edo Government House, Benin.
He said: “For now I don’t have power to announce results, but from the reports we are getting so far from the field, I think we are happy.
“I want to commend INEC so far for making sure that people voted in different polling units.
“I will also commend the security agencies so far for making sure that there was no much violence and if that continues I think it’s progress.
“Election is a process, the collation has not be done; it’s after the collation we can now give final conclusion of our appraisal.
“So far, I can say they ‘ve done well.
“What we are saying is that they should maintain what has happened and INEC should make sure that nobody tries to change the will of the people; that is what we are saying.
“If it’s the All Progressive Congress (APC) that wins, let it be so. If it’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that wins, let it be so.
“I think we are very happy with what we have now. I think we have over 2, 000 polling units results now.
“I think we are very happy and if it continues this way this election will be one of the best elections we will have had in Nigeria.
“It’s not just about voting. After voting, votes are counted and then you go for collation.
“This is the critical period and they should protect their collation centers wether at the ward level, local government level or state level so that everybody who has voted will be happy that there will must prevail.”
On the alleged sieged laid on him by over 300 policemen in his hotel room in Benin on Friday, he said the episode was now history.
“What happened yesterday has happened; you have seen me now, I have not left Edo,” he added.
The immediate past national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has alleged disenfranchisement of voters in his polling unit 01, Ward 10 in Uzairue northeast, Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State.
Governor Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had earlier made similar allegation after voting at his his polling unit 19 in ward 04, Oredo LGA.
Oshiomhole said he was satisfied with the general process of the Edo governorship election, nothing that his “only disappointment” was that “in the whole unit, not only that the machine (card reader) is slow, the machine is not working.”
He said, “I am sure you’ve confirmed with the INEC officials. They have reported, but they have not brought a new machine. This exercise is supposed to have a closing time,” Oshiomhole told reporters at his polling unit.
“So, if they are doing this in my ward, it is clear that somebody wants to reduce the numbers of voters here.
“But I have told them to stay here whether it is 2 pm or 8 pm, once they are here, they have the right to vote.
Oshiomhole noted that, INEC has a duty to make sure that nobody comes here and is not able to vote because of INEC’s own failure.
“If they don’t rectify it, it means that they want to disenfrichise many of my community people from voting.”
He said, “This raises the issue of how much can we depend on technology, if technology can be manipulated such that people who are supposed to vote cannot vote. Before bringing the machine here, they are supposed to have tested it.”
Recall that the incumbent governor, Godwin Obaseki, had also raised similar concern at his polling unit .
Obaseki had said, “I expected that INEC would have prepared better for this election. I waited for one and half hours on the queue before exercising my franchise, it’s a beat disappointing.
“Giving that this is a sole day election, I expected a better planning for this election. Card readers were very slow and that’s the situation everywhere.”
The Whistler
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