Yiaga Africa, a civil society group, has been warned against questioning the credibility of last Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State won by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Monday Okpebholo.
The warning was handed down by the APC, which reminded the civil society group that the power to conduct as declare election results rests with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a press statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, on Tuesday, the APC criticised Yiaga Africa for allegedly attempting to second-guess INEC’s authority.
Morka described the group’s actions as overstepping their mandate as election observers.
“Yiaga Africa is overreaching its election observer mission by second-guessing INEC on the result of last Saturday’s Edo State gubernatorial election.
“INEC is the sole statutory authority for the conduct and declaration of election results. Yiaga Africa is not and must desist from constituting itself as a parallel agency for the declaration of election results,” Morka stated.
The party also accused the civil society organisation of making baseless allegations regarding the manipulation of results, stating that these claims lacked supporting evidence and were based on speculative data.
“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,” Morka added.
He also stressed that election observers such as Yiaga Africa should respect INEC’s statutory role and refrain from encroaching on the commission’s responsibilities.
Morka further warned Yiaga Africa against sowing confusion by creating the appearance of a “parallel election process” through unverified and questionable statistical parameters.
He warned, “Election observer missions are not election management agencies and cannot usurp INEC’s statutory authority as the sole election management body in Nigeria.
Doing so would constitute a clear breach of the Electoral Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Declaring or second-guessing the Edo State gubernatorial result based on unsubstantiated, unverified, and highly questionable statistical parameters created by Yiaga Africa is designed to create unnecessary confusion.”
Meanwhile, the APC expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for ensuring a fair electoral process and praised INEC and law enforcement agencies for their professionalism during the election.
He reaffirmed the party’s belief that the election results represented the will of the Edo people, who voted for Senator Monday Okpebholo as their next governor.
Morka stated, “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.”
The APC also reminded any aggrieved parties that legal disputes regarding the election results should be resolved through the courts, in accordance with the established electoral process.
On Monday, Yiaga Africa criticised the conduct of the election, stating that the process and declared results lacked integrity.
The organisation alleged widespread irregularities, including the manipulation of results by collation officers.
