The People’s Democratic Party has called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Presiding Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the Edo State Governorship election, Obozuwa Josephine, for allegedly allocating non-existent votes to the All Progressives Congress.
According to the PDP, the election result sheet from Osholo Primary School Polling Unit in Etsako East Local Government Area showed that 213 voters were accredited, but Josephine allocated 352 votes to the APC, 52 to the PDP, and one to the Labour Party, totaling 406 votes cast. The party deemed this action “highly provocative” and accused Josephine of being compromised by the APC.
The PDP drew parallels between Josephine’s actions and those of Mallam Hudu Ari, the former Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner, during the 2023 Governorship election. They warned that such actions could provoke similar consequences, including violent protests and potential harm to INEC officials.
The party asserted that Josephine’s actions were part of a broader pattern of electoral fraud, ballot manipulation, and betrayal of public trust perpetrated by the APC and unscrupulous INEC officials. The PDP demanded that INEC take immediate action against Josephine, cancel the election in the affected polling unit, and address other similar infractions.
Additionally, the PDP commended the people of Edo State for their vigilance and urged them to remain resilient until the end of the election process. They also referenced previous warnings about the APC compromising the INEC system by planting party members as polling officers to manipulate the electoral process.
