Ayobamiji Komolafe 
The All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday, warned election observer, Yiaga Africa, a civil society organisation, against questioning the authority of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding the just concluded Edo State gubernatorial election.
The APC accused Yiaga Africa of making unsubstantiated allegations of result manipulation, describing the group’s claims as speculative and unsupported by concrete evidence.
In a press release issued on Tuesday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, the APC criticised Yiaga Africa for allegedly attempting to undermine INEC’s role by casting doubts on the election results.
“Yiaga Africa is overstepping its observer mission by second-guessing INEC on the results of the Edo State gubernatorial election. INEC is the sole statutory authority for conducting and declaring election results,” Morka stated.
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Morka added that the organisation’s report was flawed and politicised, urging Yiaga to refrain from creating confusion by presenting itself as a “parallel agency” to INEC.
He reiterated that election observers must respect INEC’s statutory role and warned against encroaching on the electoral body’s responsibilities, stating that any legal challenges to the election results should be resolved through the courts.
The APC also expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, INEC, and law enforcement agencies for ensuring a peaceful electoral process.
The party reaffirmed that the results, which declared Senator Monday Okpebholo as the winner, reflected the will of the people of Edo State.
It’ll be recalled that Yiaga Africa earlier criticised the election process, alleging widespread irregularities, including result manipulation by collation officers.
