- Safiu Kehinde
Adamawa state governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, has lamented over the state of democracy in Nigeria following the conclusion of Edo governorship election on Sunday.
Reacting to the declaration of the All Progressive Congress’ (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo, as the winner of the election and new Edo state governor, Fintiri took to his X handle to express his concern over the what he described as blatant disregard to democratic norms.
He accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of compromise and the APC of vote buying as well as disruption of collation process.
While also accusing the APC of attempt to discredit him over his announcement of results before INEC’s official collation, Fintiri claimed that he had only shared results from the INEC’s IREV Portal as collated by the electoral body from the various local government.
“I weep for Nigeria’s democracy after witnessing the shameful Edo Gubernatorial poll.
“The @OfficialAPCNg’s desperate attempts to discredit me by falsely claiming I announced results won’t distract from the real issue. I merely shared results from INEC’s Irev portal, as collated by INEC from the various Local Government Areas.
“This blatant disregard for democratic norms is the real brigandage. Nigerians are outraged, slamming @inecnigeria for compromising and favouring APC.
“The reported vote-buying, disruption of collation processes, and suspicious results with more votes than accredited voters undermine trust in our democracy.” Fintiri wrote.
In the same vein, the Adamawa governor, condemned APC officials including the party’s national chairman and some governors of the party for defying movement restrictions as he claimed that democracy is under attack.
“What’s truly shameful is APC’s national chairman flying into Edo with a private jet on election day, defying movement restrictions, while their Governors used armoured escorts to intimidate voters.
“Democracy indeed is under attack. We must condemn this rape of democracy and demand accountability.
“The world is watching, and Nigeria deserves better.” He added.