Crusoe Osagie, the media aide to former Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, has accused Governor Monday Okpebholo of being jittery and resorting to smear campaign against the immediate past administration following an exposure of massive rigging in the last election by Athena Centre.
A press statement by Osagie read; “The independent analysis by the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, a non-partisan research institute, of the sham of an election that installed Monday Okpebholo as governor of Edo State clearly threw the governor-select and his godfathers into a frenzy yesterday.
“Channels TV, in their show, Politics Today, had the mindless and unprecedented transgressions of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and their conspirators, the Edo All Progressives Congress (APC) laid bare. The show must have been a difficult 30 minutes for even the most vile criminal.
“Taunted by overwhelming evidence and data exposing the systemic rigging and brazen subversion of the people’s will during the September 21 governorship election, the APC, rather than covering their faces in shame, resorted to smear campaign, lies and propaganda, in a last-ditch effort to distract from the daylight robbery, and undermine the integrity of revered institutions advocating for the judiciary to right the wrong of the electoral umpire and their conspirators.
“The independent analysis broadcast yesterday is the outcome of a forensic examination of data and documents made available to the research institute by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It revealed a widespread manipulation and substantial interference in the electoral process by the umpire. But the APC who is party to the robbery would rather the findings be dismissed, distorted, or buried under a barrage of propaganda and baseless accusations.
“Among other things, the centre uncovered shocking discrepancies in the election results, showing that INEC inflated the number of accredited voters by over 100,000 in 798 polling units. They also discovered that polling officers recorded 580,000 accredited voters, yet INEC’s backend mysteriously produced 687,000, which further buttressed the evidence that it deliberately tampered with the election.
“There were also glaring inconsistencies between INEC’s certified results and the data uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV). Specifically, the forensic analysis revealed that results of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were slashed by 11,665 votes during collation, while 32,284 votes were illegally added to APC’s tally, showing the brazen manipulation and fraud perpetrated against the people of Edo State during the last governorship election.
“Unsurprisingly, as a party of electoral fraudsters, the APC would prefer that this fraud on a massive scale is upheld and normalized, seeking desperately to silence voices of dissent and attacking any institution or individual who dares to speak out against this barefaced theft of the people’s mandate.
“In their desperate quest for power at all costs, the APC has continued to undermine democratic processes, distort the truth, and manipulate the system to have a grip on power. This shows what the APC really represents – a party that values personal and political gain over the interest and will of the people, willing to subvert justice and erode the very foundations of democracy to achieve their selfish objectives.
“While we sympathize with the APC over their trauma from the public exposure of their electoral fraud in Edo State by the Athena Centre, we want to restate that we will not be distracted in our resolve to reclaim the mandate duly given by the good people of Edo State. We trust in the impartiality of the judiciary and are confident that they will rise above the distractions and intimidation tactics of the APC, ensuring that justice is served and the will of the people prevails.”
