There was a mild drama at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Benin City early Sunday as the deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State, Dennis Idahosa, led members of the party to demand the exit of Governor Godwin Obaseki from the premises of the Commission.
Idahosa, who was spotted shouting outside the gate at about 3.30 am, queried why Governor Obaseki should be at the Commission’s office where the collation of the final results of the election would be done.
Obaseki, who was said to have gained entrance into the premises of INEC on Aduwawa Road, Benin City under the cover of the night, had headed straight upstairs and took his seat close to the Edo INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner’s office where the results were being collated before they would be announced.
Tribune Online gathered that Governor Obaseki decided to monitor the collation exercise as information filtered in that there were plans to tamper with the election results by some unnamed elements.
Idahosa, who was shouting at the top of his voice from outside the gate, demanded, alongside other members of the APC, the removal of the governor from the INEC premises on the grounds that the governor had no business being there.
“Obaseki must come out. He is not suppose (sic) to be here. He is not an INEC Staff. Nigeria Police should not compromise.”
The protesters at intervals tried to gain entrance into the premises of INEC but they were prevented from entering even when they repeatedly banged on the gate.
At some point during the drama, the Deputy Inspector General ((DIG) of Police in charge of the election, Frank Mba, came into the premises with his team and headed straight to where Obaseki was seated.
Earlier, the Director General of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, had led a handful of the members of the party to the conference hall of INEC to protest alleged plans to doctor the results of the polls in favour of the APC.
Iduoriyekemwen claimed that the PDP was already cruising home to victory when the party got the information that attempts were being made to short-change the party and deny it its deserved victory.
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