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APRIL 30, 2007 VOL. 21. NO 3

The Edo Conundrum

**Adams Oshiomhole, AC’s gubernatorial candidate.**

A cross-section of interest groups and individuals denounce the conduct and subsequent outcome of the gubernatorial polls in Edo State, calling for its cancellation
By Walid Ogunseri, Benin City
ension, uncertainty, and confusion now beclouds Edo State, particularly the ancient city of Benin following protests that trailed the announcement of Professor Oserheimen Osunbor of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as Governor-elect of the State.
About-48 hours of waiting after the close of voting, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for the state, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Ahmadu, announced Osunbor as the winner.
Ahmadu had first postponed the announcement of the election result at 9:00am on Sunday, April 15, 2007, when he said he was still expecting results from some council areas.
At 2:30pm, he announced another postponement, when he was told by PDP faithfuls led by Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia that it was unsafe to make any such announcement especially as the crowd outside the INEC headquarters, along Auchi-Abuja Road, were voicing support for Adams Oshiomhole of the Action Congress.
Again at 6:00pm, Ahmadu also said he was still expecting results from one council area but he finally announced the results at about 9am on Monday, April 16, 2007, Osunbor scored 329,740 votes, as against 197,472 votes scored by the Action Congress candidate, Oshiomhole. In addition, INEC cancelled the election results in Akoko-Edo and Estako Central councils of Edo North Senatorial District, where Oshiomhole hails from.
As it were, the PDP’s victory train moved to the Irhuekpen residence of Osunbor, from where the party leadership also voiced their concern over the cancellation of the results in Akoko-Edo and Estako Central councils.
At Irhuekpen, the Edo State Governor-elect, Senator Oserheimen Aigberaodion Osunbor, expressed gratitude to the people of the State, especially his teeming supporters who turned out to cast their votes for him.
This was contained in a “Thank You Message To The People of Edo State”, signed by Osunbor himself.
The Governor-elect used the opportunity to pay glowing tribute to his party’s (PDP) leaders for conducting a very effective campaign and in a most civilised and matured manner; just as he expressed appreciation to his co-contestants for their sportsmanship.
He similarly used the opportunity to thank the Oba of Benin, Omo N’ Oba N’ Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa, for standing on the side of truth, justice and fairplay throughout the period of campaigns.
Osunbor, while expressing concern over some lives that were lost during last Saturday’s elections sympathised with the families of those that died, and prayed God to strengthen the bereaved families.
He also appealed to the people of the State to join hands in his quest to take the state to greater heights.
Also speaking, the running mate to the Edo State Governor-elect, Chief Lucky Imasuen, assured that the PDP will be magnanimous in victory.
Speaking last week with The Source, shortly after the announcement of the election results, Imausen thanked the people for voting en masse for the party’s standard bearer, Senator Osunbor.
He said: “We are happy the people have spoken. This is the beauty of democracy”.
Edo State Governor, Lucky Igbinedion, also congratulated the PDP gubernatorial candidate over his election as the Governor-Elect of Edo State.
In a congratulatory message to the Governor-elect, Igbinedion said, “Your election as the people’s choice is a manifestation of your hardwork and acceptability by the people of Edo State.
“Permit me to state here that having won the election, it is now your duty to stretch out your hand of fellowship to the other parties, as you are no longer representing our great party, PDP only but the entire state.
“Prompt reconciliation would usher in unity and concord in Edo State, thereby creating a conducive atmosphere for the development of the state” Governor Igbinedion counselled.
Similarly, the governor appealed to the people of the State to be calm and go about their lawful activities, stressing that in a contest, there is bound to be a winner and a loser.
According to him, the losers should accept the result of the election in the spirit of sportsmanship while the winner should be magnanimous in victory by extending a hand of fellowship to the losers.
Admitting that there was a large turn-out of voters during penultimate Saturday’s gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections, the governor enjoined the people to eschew violence and wanton destruction of property.
However, the Edo State chapter of the PDP, called on its teeming members, supporters and well-wishers in Edo North Senatorial District, with particular reference to Akoko- Edo Local Government Area to shun their planned street protest against INEC’s cancellation of election in the area.
The State Publicity Secretary of the party, Prince Francis Omo Osunde Iyasere, who disclosed this after an Emergency State Working Committee meeting which took place in Benin City on Tuesday, April 17, 2007, faulted INEC’s decision to cancel the April 14 gubernatorial election in Akoko-Edo and Etsako Central Local Government Areas of Edo North Senatorial District.
According to the statement, “the PDP condemns in strong terms the cancellation of elections in the two local government areas”, challenging INEC to make public the rationale used at arriving at the cancellation of elections in the two local government areas.
In Benin, a prominent High Chief of Benin Kingdom, Chief Osamede Adun, chairman Bob Izua Motors and a PDP leader in Oredo Local Government, accused Oshiomhole and the AC of rigging elections in Oredo Local Government. Adun decried the wanton destruction that followed the declaration of Osunbor as the Governor-elect of the State by thugs whom he said were sponsored by Oshiomhole and the state government. That the elections particularly in Benin City, was characterised by violence perpetrated by agents of the AC. He named some of them as Osaro Obazee, Ultimate Equals, Osakpamwan Eriyo and Chief Amos Osunbor who he claimed also led the burning of his (Aduns’s) cars and other properties belonging to PDP members during the mass protest. He, however, urged Oshiomhole to take the right course if he is not satisfied with the result of the election, instead of engaging hired youths in violent protest.
Notably, the declaration of Senator Osunbor as the Governor-elect of Edo State, was immediately greeted with an unprecedented street protest within the state capital, Benin City, by thousands of Action Congress supporters and virtually all those who had anticipated Oshiomhole’s victory.
Addressing a press conference in- between Ahmadu’s second and third postponements of the announcement of the Edo guber election results, Oshiomhole spoke of irregularities and killings in Saturday’s governorship election especially in the state capital. He spoke in company of the former Minister of External Affairs, Chief Tom Ikimi, former Director-General of the Centre for Democratic Studies, Professor Omo-Omoruyi and other leaders of the Action Congress and called for the cancellation of the entire governorship election results.
According to him, in Estako Central there was no voting because the voting materials were hijacked contending that if INEC can cancel the result from that area in their announcement, why then did it not do the same at troubled spots.
“In fact, the election was characterised by violence at Uhunmwonde Local Government Headquarters, Ehor as Dr. Ogbemudia and his son, Eghosa, who is the currnent chairman of Uhunmwonde Local Government Council, were said to have stormed the INEC headquarters in a commando-style with a truck load of armed gang, all with automatic weapons, at about 5 o’clock am, on the election day and in the presence of mobile policemen, military personnel sacked the office and confiscated the voting materials.
“However, upon complaining by Action Congress members who kept vigil at a safe distance opposite the INEC office they were mercilessly beaten by the thugs who were firing sporadically, until another set of militarymen came, maybe to persuade the first set that was protecting the thugs, though the damage had been done, many people suffered bodily injuries and more importantly, the thugs have effectively taken control of voting materials, ballot boxes”.
At Orhionmwon, precisely Abudu, it was more of a civil war, because for over several hours, it was exchange of gunfire between armed thugs of one of the parties, all of which was designed to scare away voters.
Oshiomhole: The shooting in Orhionmwon was organised because they know my running mate come from the area and therefore, they rightly believed they have to show some powers, so they have to determine either to prevent voting from taking place or scare people away from voting, in the end they were able to take over half of the local government, extensively confiscated their voting materials and of course wherever they could not confiscate materials, election did not take place and only a part of it had the privilege somehow to have their votes counted”.
“Of course, the story within Benin metropolis comprising the three local government areas of Oredo, Ikpoba Okha and Egor will remain fresh in the mind of many observers and the electorate. People saw how armed gangs shot and killed three people who where voting. They shot sporadically at Oba Akenzua Primary School, along 2nd Cemetery Road, and by the time they were done, they had killed innocent voters. Thousands of voters in Saint Saviour Road and Upper Sokponba area were witness to how Hon. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, a member of the House of Assembly and NDDC Edo State Commissioner, was arrested for perpetuating mayhem against Action Congress members at Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area. The voters are witness to the fact that Hon. Iduoriyekemwen on this occasion was said to have turned himself into an official thug armed with mobile police escorts and thugs loaded into four cars was going from here and there confiscating ballot boxes, and voting materials” the AC candidate said.
Continuing, Oshiomhole said that “in Edo Central, Chief Francis Inegbineki, a PDP chieftain was also accused of unleashing violence on the voters and then of course, rigging and taking of ballot boxes.
“He was said to have stormed the Central district with buses loaded with thugs and mobile policemen; though it could not be ascertained whether these were official police, but in the presence of these policemen, he was said to have unleashed terror on the entire Esan land, dislodged the people and then proceeded to carry the voters materials”, he said.
“In Igueben Local Government Area, a Commissioner with Edo State Government Hon. Barrister Ken Ihensekhien was arrested with ballot boxes and voting materials and of course he was taken to Irrua area police command.
“In Edo North, particularly in Estako Central Local Government Council, where the state deputy governor, Chief Mike Ogiadohme comes from, there was extensively no vote there because the deputy governor was accused of using his personal security plus the mobile police and the military to take over the voting materials and together with the local government chairman, Pascal Ugbome, confiscated voting materials, and used the house of a local chief as polling booth where they did the thumb printing and there was no voting at all, so they fired to scare people away and continued to fire until Admiral Mike Akhigbe, who is also a big pusher of the PDP in Edo and also a close relation of Chief Mike Oghiadomhe was said to have come out to denounce them, but nevertheless, they had done the damage”, Oshiomhole recounted.
But inspite of these irregularities and the violence that characterised the April 14 governorship polls in the state, Oshiomhole told The Source that he had more than 85 per cent of the total votes cast, if the results were based on those areas where voting took place.
He said: “However, even with all manipulations by the PDP, they were still not sure they can win by the night of the election day, even though voting ended at about 6:pm and in most cases they finished counting by seven or eight and we were invited to come to INEC office by 9’oclock only to be told that the results of some local government areas are yet to be returned. Until this morning, (Sunday), the results are not out”.
“I asked the Resident Electoral Commissioner what was responsible for all these, but he said they are waiting for the EO’s (Electoral Officers) to come and add the results together. Coalition became a problem. Reason, they needed the night so that in the dark of the night, they can continue to change the figures”.
Oshiomhole noted that in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, where election did not take place, an INEC official is not authorised to proceed to announce, declare or take results that are compiled by individuals in collaboration with EO’s in nine particular local government areas. He observed that whereas it took INEC not more than two, three hours to count every vote in the various wards, to collate their various wards that constitute a local government it took the commission's officials several hours to add the summary of the 18 local government areas so as to get a winner.
Determined to press his party’s demand for the cancellation of the results, members of the AC numbering of over 60,000 marched through major streets of the state capital, with Oshiomhole in the lead. Women, youths and men went with Oshiomhole who was standing in a open-roofed four wheel jeep defiled the police teargas, and the military harassment as they went round the major street, of Benin City, to protest the declaration of the PDP’s Osunbor as the Governor-elect by INEC.
Oshiomhole told the crowd that the protest will continue until the results of the election were cancelled. He was at a point arrested by security operatives, but was soon released. But the Police Public Relations Officer, Peter Ogboe, said Oshiomhole was never arrested as in his words, he was in the Police headquarters to discuss how the protesters could be controlled to be orderly in the cause of their demonstration.”
Subsequently, the Edo State Government imposed an indefinite state-wide curfew, from 6:00pm till 6:00am daily, with effect from Tuesday April 17, 2007.
A press statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Edo State Governor, Lucky Wasa, advised residents to abide strictly by the order.
He said that law enforcement agents have been empowered to arrest and persecute offenders.
Meanwhile, the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) in Edo State have rejected the results of the governorship polls, saying that the state only witnessed a bloody war and no election, pointing out that the declaration of Osunbor as winner of an election that did not hold is a challenge to the people of the state to do their worst, adding that INEC should be held responsible for the consequences.
The party in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Godwin Erhahon however, sympathised with the AC which he described as the potential winner of the election. He called on all opposition parties in the state to forget all selfish interest and unite to fight against the injustice.
In the same vein, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in a statement signed by its president, Abdul Wahed Ibrahim Omar and its Secretary, John Odah, called on Professor Maurice Iwu, the chairman of INEC, to immediately cancel the elections in Edo State because of massive rigging which culminated in declaring the fraudulent results which unturned the victory of Oshiomhole.
The NLC also used the medium to express their full support for the ongoing mass action in Edo State and declared its readiness to provide support and reinforcement for the workers and people of Edo State in the effort to resist the imposition of the PDP.
In a press statement signed by the NLC State Chairman, Anthony Eboigbodin and its secretary, Bashir Kadiri, the congress said that the elections were massively rigged from the ward to the state level in a way that demonstrated the clear contempt of the ruling PDP for the will of the people of Edo State, adding that the rigging was with the active complicity of INEC. They therefore, called for the cancellation of the result of the Edo State governorship election and a fresh election under a new resident electoral commissioner and security arrangement to be agreed upon by all stakeholders.
The State Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Dr. John Ogbeide on his part told The Source in Benin shortly after the results was declared that the INEC Commissioner deliberately delayed the release of the results, even though it was ready for announcement 18 hours earlier, to enable him manipulate the result in favour of the PDP and thus called upon the chairman of INEC to cancel the governorship election held in Edo State and conduct a fresh one.
Also, Edo State indigenes Forum has also resolved that should INEC refuse to cancel the election, despite all glaring irregularities, it would go to court to compel INEC to cancel and reschedule the election, to ensure a free and fair contest.
Edward Idogogbe, the President- General of ESIF speaking in an interview with The Source said urged INEC to be courageous to nullify the election, or face court action to be instituted by indigenes of Edo State.
Similarly, the President of Edo Youths for True Democracy, Chief Eruaga Slyvanus Peters, on Tuesday April 17, 2007, gave INEC, the state and federal governments 48hours to recall the governorship election result which declared Osunbor of the PDP as winner and announce Oshiomhole as the rightful winner of the election or risk a massive protest to get back the stolen mandate of the people.