The United States has expressed serious concerns over handling the Edo State governorship election, saying it is paying close attention to how the legal tussle is unfolding.
This comes just days after the Edo Election Petitions Tribunal dismissed the case filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, and upheld the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo, in the September 2024 election.
But the US Mission in Nigeria says it is not convinced all went well.
In a statement posted on Friday, the Mission pointed to irregularities flagged by civil society groups, especially a report by Kimpact Development Initiative, which exposed glaring gaps in the conduct and collation of results during the election.
“One of the most striking findings of this study was the persistent mismatch in the number of registered voters across multiple polling units. In Edo State, inconsistencies were found in 141 polling units,” the US Mission quoted the Ballot Integrity Project report by Kimpact.
The report also mentioned that over 29,000 ballots were unaccounted for, while over-voting occurred in 382 polling units.
“Edo recorded a far higher number, with 29,053 ballots unaccounted for at the polling unit level. Even after the collation process was completed, Edo still had 20,167 unaccounted ballots,” the report revealed.
It added, “Edo State had over-voting in 382 polling units, with a total of 8,887 excess votes.’’
Although the tribunal ruled in favour of Governor Okpebholo, insisting that Ighodalo failed to prove his claims, the US seems to be reserving its judgement.
“The US Mission in Nigeria is following the Edo election appeal process closely, particularly given civil society’s concerns about critical issues related to the election, such as ‘serious lapses in the collation process’ that were observed,” the Mission said.
US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, reinforced the need for openness in the electoral and judicial process, saying, “Transparency and due process are crucial to maintaining public confidence in any democratic system.”
Mr Ighodalo has already vowed to challenge the tribunal’s verdict, insisting that the election was manipulated in favour of the APC.
The US has in the past taken a hard line against political and judicial actors it believes have undermined Nigeria’s democracy. It reportedly imposed visa bans, including one on Chief Justice of Nigeria Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, over a controversial 2020 Supreme Court decision that removed Emeka Ihedioha as governor of Imo State and installed Hope Uzodimma of the APC.
For now, all eyes remain on the appeal process and how Nigeria’s judiciary handles the claims before it.
