The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused civil society group Yiaga Africa of overstepping its bounds as an election observer by questioning the results of last Saturday’s Edo State gubernatorial election. In a strongly-worded statement, the APC insisted that Yiaga Africa’s actions amounted to an attempt to create confusion and undermine the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which is the only authority legally empowered to conduct and declare election results.
Yiaga Africa, one of the many civil society organizations accredited by INEC, has alleged irregularities in the election results without providing substantive evidence. The APC described these claims as speculative and unsubstantiated, emphasizing that the civil society group’s report contained “methodological flaws, politicized observations, inconsistencies, and inaccuracies,” calling into question the credibility of its findings.
“Election observer missions are not election management agencies,” the statement read. “Yiaga Africa has no mandate to second-guess INEC or to act as a parallel agency in declaring election results.” The APC warned that any attempt to do so would violate the Electoral Act and Nigeria’s Constitution, stressing that only INEC is authorized to manage and declare the outcome of elections.
While acknowledging the importance of election observation, the APC reiterated that observer groups like Yiaga Africa should limit their roles to reporting their findings to INEC and the public, without attempting to challenge or contradict the electoral body’s official results. The party also condemned any efforts to delegitimize the election, calling Yiaga Africa’s actions a “clear disservice” to Nigeria’s electoral process.
The APC also took the opportunity to thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for ensuring a level playing field and commended INEC for its professionalism in overseeing the election. The party celebrated the victory of its candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, as a “clear mandate” from the people of Edo State to lead the state into a new era of peace, development, and prosperity.
The party further urged that any legal contestations of the election results should be submitted to the courts for adjudication, in line with Nigeria’s electoral and constitutional processes.
The Edo gubernatorial election has been widely viewed as a litmus test for Nigeria’s democracy, with both local and international observers closely monitoring the process.
