Stay tuned to EKO HOT BLOG for comprehensive situation reports, election results, and live updates from the governorship poll.
We will be providing real-time coverage from across the three senatorial districts, ensuring you don’t miss any critical developments as they unfold.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it has uploaded 4.5 percent of the results from the Edo governorship election to its Result Viewing Portal. As of Saturday, the portal indicated that 205 results from the 4,519 polling units where elections were conducted in the state have been made available for public viewing.
This initiative is part of INEC’s commitment to transparency in the electoral process, allowing stakeholders and the public to monitor the results in real-time
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced an extension of voting hours in the ongoing Edo State governorship election in areas where the exercise began late due to various challenges.
In a statement, INEC clarified that this decision aligns with its Regulations and Guidelines, stating that voting will be extended in any location where it commenced late. Voting will continue until the last voter in the queue who arrived by 2:30 PM has cast their ballot.
Mohammed Haruna, INEC’s National Commissioner and a member of the Information and Voter Education Committee, provided insights into the situation. He noted that while many polling units reported early commencement of polls, there were also significant delays in some locations.
To address these issues and ensure that no voter is disenfranchised, Haruna reiterated the Commission’s commitment to facilitating the voting process. He mentioned that INEC has alerted its Edo State office to ensure adequate power supply from backup generators at affected polling units and ward collation centers.
Earlier reports indicated delays in the voting exercise in parts of the state, attributed to the late arrival of INEC officials, electoral materials, and malfunctions of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines. INEC is actively monitoring the situation to ensure a smooth electoral process.
The governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Olumide Akpata, has cast his vote in the ongoing election in Edo State.
Akpata, while addressing newsmen after casting his vote at his polling unit in Oredo, said he was confident he would win.
He further stated that he is impressed with the turnout, which he described as impressive.
There was significant delay at Unit 5, Ward 11, located at Azama Primary School in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State in the ongoing governorship election on Saturday as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) malfunctioned, preventing voters, including former deputy governor of Edo State, Mr. Philip Shaibu, from casting their ballots.
As of 12:10 p.m., Shaibu had yet to vote, along with many other voters who had gathered early to exercise their civic rights. The malfunctioning BVAS machine, crucial for voter accreditation, left many frustrated as they waited for INEC officials to either repair or replace the faulty device.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for Edo governorship election, Dr Asue Ighodalo, has condemned late arrival of officials of Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, and election materials to his polling unit.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, INEC Officials and materials arrived in Ighodalo’s Okaegben ward one, unit 3 in Ewohimi at exactly 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Ighodalo, who arrived at the voting centre at 10:30 a.m., also condemned the arrest of some PDP members in Uromi, Esan North East Local Government Area of the state.
He also decried the late arrival of election materials in Owan West Local Government Area.
“As you can see, INEC Officials and materials just arrived and they are well over two hours late.
“Well, we are still well around the allocated time for voting; let us see what we can achieve between now and close of voting hours,’’ he said.
According to him, it will only be fair if the voting hours are extended by the numbers of hours lost.
Officials from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are currently absent at the polling unit for PDP’s governorship candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
The Idinrio community in Ewohimi, Esan South East Local Government Area, is eerily calm and quiet.
According to our correspondent at the scene, there are no signs of INEC officials or representatives from other political parties present.
Security personnel were seen mounting roadblocks on roads in Benin as early as 6:00 a.m., ahead of the Edo governorship election, which is set to begin at 8:00 a.m.
Security personnel in the wee hours of the day began stopping and searching vehicles at the roadblocks, as well asking the occupants questions in order to ensure security, law, and order during the election.
Some commercial bus drivers who wanted to make quick business, however, managed to avoid the roadblocks to evade questioning by security officials.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has debunked the news making the rounds that there was an attack at the collation centre in Oredo LGA of Edo state.
According to The Cable, the State’s Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare,at a briefing said that soldiers had successfully repelled the attackers and reclaimed the hijacked INEC collation centres.
“We are here this afternoon to tell you the ugly incident that is happening in Oredo and some other local government areas,
“But just as I stepped in here a few minutes ago, we were told that soldiers have recovered the Oredo and pushed the thugs out of the collation Centre.
“We want to encourage the military to go across the 18 local government areas of the state and take possession of these collation centres.
“The information we are getting is that they’re planning to attack these collation centres, especially the strongholds of the PDP candidate,” Nehikhare was quoted as saying.
The Nigeria police said its operatives have arrested political thugs and seized firearms during overnight operations in Edo State where the governorship election will be holding today.
The political landscape is dominated by three major candidates: Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP). These candidates are competing for the opportunity to lead the state as its next governor.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), out of the 2,629,025 registered voters in Edo State, a total of 2,249,780 Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) have been collected, ensuring a significant voter turnout.
However, 379,245 PVCs, representing 14.43% of the total, remain uncollected.
The election will take place across 4,519 polling units in the state, with 17 candidates in the running—16 men and one woman.
Despite the number of candidates, the contest has largely narrowed down to a three-way race between Ighodalo (PDP), Okpebholo (APC), and Akpata (LP), making it one of the most competitive elections in Edo State’s history.
Stay tuned to EKO HOT BLOG for comprehensive situation reports, election results, and live updates from the governorship poll.
We will be providing real-time coverage from across the three senatorial districts, ensuring you don’t miss any critical developments as they unfold.
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