- Says, I Don’t Want To Escalate Further Tension In Edo…
By Hamilton Nwosa(Head, The New Diplomat’s Polling, Research and data desk)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship candidate in the September 19 Edo Gubernatorial election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has explained that he won’t pursue legal action that would either invalidate or validate the outcome of the poll.
This is despite condemning the outcome of the September 19 Edo governorship election which he said was marred by falsification of results, voters intimidation and cases of violence.
Pastor Ize-Iyamu, in a statement he released to the media on Monday, explained that his decision not to challenge the outcome of the poll in court is premised on his resolve not to escalate an already tense political atmosphere in Edo state.
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According to Ize-Iyamu the governorship “the election was neither free nor fair contrary to reports”, stressing that there “were several episodes of violence, voter intimidation and falsification of results.”
To buttress his argument, the APC governorship candidate cited instances where “there were unlawful cancellations of results particularly from Urhonigbe South and North in Orhiomwon while results were falsified from many polling units in Ofunama in Ovia South West, and in parts of Ovia North East, Owan West, Oredo, Egor, Ikpoba-Okha, Esan North East, Esan West, Esan South East, and Uhunmwode Local Government Areas.”
He also alleged that security personnel colluded with opponents , stressing that they declined to move, even in places where they were called upon to intervene in instances where “gun-wielding thugs took over collation centres in many locations.”
Ize-Iyamu, a founding member of the APC and one- time Secretary to the Edo State Government (SSG) noted that “there were also several cases of malfunctioning card readers, which disenfranchised duly registered voters in addition to many cases of unregistered voters voting with pre-purchased voters’ cards not collected by their actual owners.”
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“We have decided not to commence an election petition. This is to avoid further tension in the state. We are also mindful that the leadership of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and many well-placed individuals have made pronouncements endorsing the process, which we have chosen to respect,” he added.
Not-withstanding his position, the APC governorship candidate revealed that he would pursue two pre-election matters, seeking to question the eligibility and qualification of Edo state governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Mr Godwin Obaseki to contest the poll just “as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its flagbearers have continued to pursue several pre-election suits in various courts against us, all totalling 13.”
He said: “Consequently, we have decided to continue with our pre-election cases in full exercise of our legal rights, just as our opponents have considered it their prerogative to also continue with their pre-election cases against us.”
