Edo LG poll: CRPP accuses APC of celebrating ‘manufactured’ figures

By Jethro Ibileke

The Conference of Registered Political Parties (CRPP) has stated that the outcome of Saturday, July 11 local government elections in Edo State was not the expression of the will of the people.

CRPP in a statement on Wednesday, signed by Dr Samson Isibor and Hon Nkama Waribe, its National Chairman and National Secretary respectively, described the celebration of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)’s victory as an attempt to legitimise what it called manufactured figures rather than a genuine expression of the people.

It would be recalled that the APC had won in all the 18 local government areas and the 192 wards in the election.

The Coalition said it was surprising that the APC was celebrating claims of over two million votes in an election that was characterised by widespread voter apathy and extremely low turnout across the 18 local government areas of the state.

It noted that the election failed to generate public enthusiasm despite the APC being virtually the only political party that fielded candidates for the exercise.

The coalition noted that the poor turnout clearly reflected the growing disenchantment of Edo people with the APC administration at both the state and federal levels, citing worsening insecurity, hunger, unemployment, poverty and the rising cost of living as major factors responsible for the electorate’s loss of confidence in the ruling party.

CRPP maintained that no amount of inflated or manufactured figures could conceal what it described as the obvious rejection of the APC by the people of Edo State, insisting that the reality witnessed at polling units across the state was at variance with the impressive figures being publicised by the ruling party.

The coalition further alleged that the huge vote figures being brandished by the APC were intended to create a false impression before President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that Edo State remained firmly under the party’s control and that he could expect similar electoral support in the 2027 general election.

According to the CRPP, “The figures being celebrated are clearly designed to hoodwink President Bola Ahmed Tinubu into believing that the APC still enjoys overwhelming grassroots support in Edo State.

“However, the reality on the ground tells a different story, as the empty polling units and low voter participation exposed the true mood of the people.”

The Coalition warned that the APC should not mistake questionable and unrealistic election statistics for genuine popularity, stressing that the hardship confronting Nigerians had fundamentally altered the political mood of the electorate.

Meanwhile, the CRPP has challenged the Chairman of Edo State Independent Electoral Commission (EDSIEC), Jonathan Aifuobhokhan, to disclose where he deployed the 10,000 ad hoc staff he announced to the world on July 9, that were recruited for the purpose of the election.

“We make bold to say that the APC connived with the EDSIEC chairman to defraud Edo people by inventing such factitious figures of ad hoc staff that were never seen on ground. So, they should tell us how they used our money,” the statement said.

CRPP, however, expressed confidence that the 2027 general election would present Edo people with an opportunity to freely express their democratic choice, adding that the APC would receive the “shock of its political life” as voters had resolved to democratically reject the party through the ballot.

The Coalition therefore urged political leaders to focus on addressing the challenges confronting citizens rather than celebrating what it described as questionable electoral statistics, insisting that only good governance, transparency and accountability could restore public confidence in the nation’s democratic process.