The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) presiding officer, Obozuwa Josephine, accusing her of falsifying election results in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the Edo State governorship election.
According to the PDP, the election result sheet from Osholo Primary School Polling Unit in Etsako East Local Government Area showed that while only 213 voters were accredited, Josephine recorded 352 votes for the APC, 52 for the PDP, and one for the Labour Party, totalling 406 votes cast.
In a press statement posted on X, the PDP described this as a deliberate and criminal act of vote allocation. The party compared it to a similar incident involving a former Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner during the 2023 governorship election, which caused violent protests.
Obozuwa Josephine should take note that this criminal action by her could provoke similar consequences, the statement said.
Our Party holds that Obozuwa Josephine’s action is one of the many cases of electoral fraud, ballot manipulation, betrayal of public trust and crime against the State perpetrated in this election by the APC and unscrupulous INEC officials, which must not go unpunished.
The party has demanded that INEC not only arrest and prosecute Obozuwa Josephine but also cancel the election results from the affected polling unit. It also called for measures to prevent similar incidents in other areas.
Meanwhile, in a post on X, INEC acknowledged being aware of the allegations and said it would investigate the matter.
The Edo gubernatorial election was characterised by the late arrival of INEC officials in several polling units, which caused INEC to extend the voting time.
Read: “For Now, No Results Yet” From Any Local Government Areas, Says Edo INEC
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