Following the recently concluded Edo State governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s IREV portal reveals that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the election, despite INEC officially declaring the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner.
According to data posted on INEC’s IREV portal as of September 21, 2024, results in multiple Local Government Areas (LGAs) show a clear lead for the PDP, with the party’s votes decreasing significantly by the time INEC announced the official results on September 22, 2024.
In contrast, APC’s vote count increased between the portal’s figures and the final declaration by INEC.
In Akoko-Edo LGA, PDP’s votes posted on IREV stood at 20,101, but were reduced by 21.07% to 15,865 when the result was announced.
Conversely, APC’s IREV total of 22,963 was inflated by 34.10% to 34,847 in the final results.
In Egor LGA, PDP’s votes were 27,621 on the IREV portal but were slashed by 46.93% to 14,658, while APC’s votes moved from 10,202 to 16,760, an increase of 39.13%.
In Esan Central LGA, the PDP’s IREV tally of 10,794 was reduced by 20.16% to 8,618, while APC’s votes jumped from 6,719 to 10,990, a 38.86% rise.
In Uhunmwonde LGA, the PDP’s initial count of 16,741 was drastically reduced by 44.21% to 9,339, while APC’s votes saw a significant increase from 5,972 to 8,776, a rise of 31.95%.
In Esan West LGA, PDP’s votes fell from 17,434 to 11,004, a reduction of 36.88%, while APC’s votes rose by 44.50% from 7,189 to 12,952.
Similarly, in Ovia North East LGA, PDP’s votes dropped by 9.87%, while APC’s votes increased by 25.09%.
The disparities, seen across several LGAs, have raised serious questions about the credibility of the announced results.
According to the IREV portal figures, the PDP secured 314,676 votes before the reductions, while the APC’s tally was initially 223,619 but increased by 8.58% to 244,606 in the final results.
The vote alterations between the IREV results and the official announcement have sparked concerns over the transparency of the election process, with calls mounting for a thorough investigation.