Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have described the recently concluded Edo State governorship election as a blatant assault on democratic principles.
The governors, under the PDP Governors Forum (PDP-GF), also raised concerns over alleged electoral manipulation during the Ondo State election, accusing the All Progressives Congress (APC) of vote-buying and tampering with results.
These resolutions were part of discussions at an extraordinary session of the forum held in Jos, Plateau State, on Wednesday.
The PDP governors accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of rigging the Edo election in favor of the APC candidate.
“It is clear to everyone with a conscience that INEC manipulated results in favor of the APC candidate when, in fact, the majority of lawful votes were won by the PDP candidate, Mr. Asue Ighodalo,” the forum stated.
The governors expressed dismay at what they described as a deliberate sabotage of the democratic process and urged the judiciary to intervene to uphold the will of the people.
The forum further alleged electoral malpractice in the Ondo governorship election, claiming the APC openly engaged in vote-buying.
“We are still examining the documents from the Ondo elections where the APC manipulated results after openly buying votes,” the governors noted.
In their resolutions, the PDP governors urged the National Assembly to strengthen electoral laws to prevent the sabotage of the democratic process.
They also called on the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to convene a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting by February 2025 to address pressing issues within the party.
“The Forum calls on the judiciary to save Nigerian democracy and the National Assembly to review our electoral laws to make it difficult for institutional sabotage of the will of the people.”
The PDP Governors Forum reaffirmed their commitment to democracy and called on all stakeholders to work towards ensuring free, fair, and credible elections in Nigeria.
