In a dramatic turn of events, the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, visited the head office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the early hours of Sunday, prompting protests from supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Accompanied by security aides, Obaseki entered the office of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for a closed-door meeting that lasted over an hour.
This INEC office serves as the main collation center for the ongoing governorship election, where results are being gathered and verified.
As Obaseki met with INEC officials, a group of APC supporters gathered outside the commission’s office to voice their concerns.
They argued that it was inappropriate for the governor to engage with INEC officials during an active election. Tensions escalated as the protesters demanded transparency and fairness in the electoral process.
In a surprising twist, the leader of the protesting group was eventually allowed to join the meeting with Obaseki and the REC, although details of their discussion remain undisclosed.
Obaseki exited the INEC office around 4:45 a.m., but security personnel prevented journalists from questioning him about the meeting’s content or the ongoing election.
As of the time of this report, INEC had not yet commenced the official collation of results.
However, the commission has made substantial progress in uploading election results to its portal, with the results from 4,259 polling units already available on the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) platform.
A total of 4,519 polling units are expected to be uploaded, indicating a significant step towards transparency in the electoral process.
