The Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress spat words on Monday over an alleged attempt to tamper with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System utilised for the September 21 governorship election in Edo State.

The PDP, whose candidate, Asue Ighodalo, is about to file a legal challenge against the poll’s results, charged that the Independent National Electoral Commission had purposefully delayed providing the electoral papers to her.

In addition, the APC organised a protest outside the INEC office in Benin, cautioning the electoral body against working with the PDP to manipulate the voting materials.

Debo Ologunagba, the national publicity secretary for the PDP, asserted that the All Progressives Congress and tainted INEC officials were trying to tamper with election materials and data in the BVAS machines in order to favour the APC candidate who was defeated.

Monday Okpebholo of the APC defeated Asue Ighodalo of the PDP with 291,667 votes in the Edo State governorship election on September 21. Ighodalo received 247,274 votes.

“The Peoples Democratic Party strongly condemns the reported refusal by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Edo State to grant the PDP and its candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, access to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machines and other materials used in the September 21, 2024 Edo State governorship election against the order of court,” the party said in a statement released by Ologunagba on Monday while speaking in Abuja.

In order to confuse and prevent the PDP from obtaining these confidential documents, our party also informs the public about how compromised INEC officials allegedly allowed thugs hired by the All Progressives Congress and some dishonest police operatives to invade the INEC office in Edo State under the pretence of waiting for “directives from above.”

“INEC’s blatant disregard for the order of the Edo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, held in Benin City, dated September 29, 2024, is demonstrated by its refusal to release the materials.”

The PDP and its candidate, Ologunagba claims, “clearly won the election,” and INEC’s decision “validates reports of criminal connivance of some INEC officials with the APC to obstruct the course of justice and suppress evidence of the manipulation and doctoring of election results.”

According to Ologunagba, the APC and INEC need to realise that the PDP and the people of Edo State will not allow the APC to illegally seize the mandate that was freely granted to the PDP.

The APC and seriously corrupted INEC staff are allegedly attempting to tamper with ballot papers, results sheets, BVAS machines, and other crucial data to favour the APC candidate who lost. This information is known to the PDP.

It stated, “It is imperative to draw the attention of Nigerians and the international community of a pattern by the INEC to continue to present itself as a threat to democracy, in line with the constitution and extant electoral laws, in violation of its mandate to promote democratic principles of free, fair, and credible elections.”

In order to restore the commission’s reputation, the party therefore called on Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of INEC, to guarantee the prompt release of the ballot papers, results sheets, BVAS machines, and other essential election materials so that the party and candidates may inspect them in accordance with the tribunal’s ruling.

Olusegun Jolaawo (SAN), a member of the legal team representing Ighodalo, stated at the INEC office in Benin on Monday that the team’s inability to start inspecting election documents might make it more difficult to file the case with the tribunal.

He stated that INEC informed the legal team that it will get in touch with them as soon as the documents and BVAS machines were prepared.

“I am a member of the legal team tasked with expressing our dissatisfaction with the election results and submitting a petition of the same,” he declared.

We arrived at the INEC office on Monday in an effort to gather information to support our petition, which was authorised by a September 29, 2024, court ruling.

“The head of the legal department informed us that they were putting out a timetable for our inspection, but we were unable to meet with the resident electoral commissioner when we arrived.

Because we haven’t got access to the BVAS machines to question the same with our team, we haven’t been able to inspect.

Everyone can see the risk involved in denying us access to inspect the items. We have till this Saturday to file this petition, and it is Monday already.

The PDP and Ighodalo obtained a court-enrolled order from INEC, among other things, directing it to provide the comprehensive list of all the electoral materials in its possession for the PDP and Ighodalo to inspect and “take the Certified True Copy thereof,” according to a court document that The DAILYPULSE was able to access on Monday.

The ruling was made in the EPT/ED/GOV/01M/2024 lawsuit involving the APC, INEC, and Okpebholo as respondents, and Ighodalo and PDP as applicants.

In the meantime, thousands of APC supporters surrounded the INEC headquarters in Benin on Monday to express their disapproval of an alleged Ighodalo scheme to alter election materials, including result sheets, in the commission’s office prior to the tribunal meeting.

The demonstrators, led by Dennis Idahosa, the Deputy Governor-elect, blocked the door to the INEC office, causing traffic jams as they warned the organisation not to permit anyone to tamper with the election records.

The INEC office was closed when THE DAILYPULSE visited there on Monday at approximately 240 p.m. Police officers were observed patrolling the premises and a few employees were coming and going from the compound.