APC Tackles Yiaga Africa Over Edo Poll Report

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as a disservice to the electoral process allegations by Yiaga Africa, one of the observers for the 2024 Edo governorship election, that the results of the polls were manipulated without hard facts and figures but based on some statistical guesswork.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Senator Monday Okpebholo, the APC candidate, the winner of last Saturday’s Edo state governorship election.

Yiaga Africa, in a post-election statement, said the election failed the electoral integrity test as INEC officials compromised the collation processes.

But APC said the civil society organisation accredited by the electoral umpire was overreaching its election observer mission to second-guess INEC on the polls’ results.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the ruling said INEC is the sole statutory authority for the conduct and declaration of the election results.

Morka states, “Yiaga Africa is not, and must desist from constituting itself into, a parallel agency for the declaration of election result.

“Alleging that results were manipulated without hard facts and figures but based on some statistical guesswork is a clear disservice to the electoral process. Yiaga Africa’s report is a travesty, replete with methodological flaws, politicised observations, inconsistencies, and inaccuracies, and called its credibility into question.

“Election observer missions are not election management agencies and cannot usurp INEC’s statutory authority as Nigeria’s sole election management body.

Doing so would constitute a clear breach of the Electoral Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“While election observer missions, like Yiaga Africa, are at liberty to share their observations about the election process with INEC and the general public, however, declaring election results or second guessing results declared by INEC in performance of its statutory duties falls beyond their observation mandate.”

He said the election’s outcome was an unequivocal rejection of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration’s lousy governance and endorsement of President Bola Tinubu’s visionary policies, which were transforming Nigeria’s economic landscape, strengthening security, and promoting good governance.

“The APC reiterates its immense appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for ensuring a level playing field, to INEC for its professionalism, and to law enforcement agencies for their diligence and service during the election.

“By their votes, the good people of Edo State were loud and clear in their choice of Senator Monday Okpebholo as the next Governor to lead the state into a new era of peace, unity, people-centred development and prosperity for all.

“Any disputes, contestations or questions about the election may now be submitted to the courts for adjudication in line with electoral and constitutional norms and recourse mechanisms,” Morka added.