Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, explained that he visited the state’s collation centre to obtain first-hand information regarding the ongoing election process.
Obaseki arrived at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Benin City in the early hours of the day after failing to reach the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Anugbum Onuoha, for updates.
Speaking during a Sunday briefing by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign organization, the governor said he became concerned when reports indicated that the collation process had been delayed, and opposition party agents were being excluded.
“At about 1:00 a.m., I was informed that the collation was supposed to be moved to the INEC head office. However, our agents reported that PDP agents were not allowed into the process,” Obaseki explained.
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He attempted to contact the REC for clarification but received no response, prompting him to personally visit the centre.
Upon his arrival at 2:00 a.m., Obaseki found no ongoing collation and was unable to receive any clarification from the REC. After discussions with Deputy Inspector-General of Police Frank Mba, INEC finally issued a statement at 5:00 a.m., announcing that the collation process would resume at 10:00 a.m.
“My visit was to seek information from INEC, as they had not communicated any updates to the public about the situation,” Obaseki said, emphasizing his commitment to transparency in the election process.
