The All Progressives Congress (APC), has chided the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate in the September 28 governorship election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu for protesting against the declaration of Mr. Godwin Obaseki as the governor-elect in the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Ojezua said the APC and its teeming supporters have celebrated the party’s unquantifiable victory from the governorship contest contrary to the claims and assumption by the opposition that the ruling party and its members did not celebrate the feat.
The APC state chairman described as “very unfortunate that people who otherwise would have been described as experienced politicians are behaving as school children from whom ice cream has been taken from, pointing out that the reaction of the PDP and its candidate in the just concluded election was “completely off point, undeserved and unjustifiable” in the face of law.
He stated that looking at the processes, when INEC released its programme it had its own guidelines and targets in all ramifications except for the postponement, they met with their timeline. Everything was done within the timeline and in restricted and professional manner. At every point in time that I have had to make a comment on the INEC handling of its electoral process I have said the same thing. On the two or three occasions that we have met at the instance of INEC I have also made comments to this effect that INEC handling of the 2016 governorship election was efficient so also with regard to the election.”
Ojezua said, “What you now find one week after are contrived protests reminiscence of students protest over feeding allowances. That cannot be a political reaction to the election that was conducted on the 28th of September.”
According to him, “right from when materials were taken from the Central Bank till they were returned for the declaration of results together with the results, INEC was efficient in terms of meeting the timeline, materials got to the locations earlier than anticipated and at all stages all the parties involved have their agents in attendance and participating including the PDP, as a matter of fact PDP had their members as proxies for five other parties other than PDP, in other words in each location PDP six agents in every stage and when an election goes bad its either at the poling unit where election took place or at the ward collection which is the very main step which means either something went wrong with the election in terms of the process itself.
“Let’s say we forgive Chief Dan Orbih perhaps because he is a serial failure, how would you forgive the candidate himself, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, a man I have worked with in the past who is a lawyer? He understands the electoral process, he knows when he is beaten and he knows when to accept defeat, for him to come up publicity to adopt this process, a lawyer who knows the law that when you have issues with the electoral process there is a tribunal to go to and he is trying to go for streets protests and somebody mentioned to me to say they are doing this because that was how Oshiomhole claimed his mandate.”
He added that, “If you recall immediately after that declaration the streets of Benin were full of protests not of politicians, of citizens, voters who voted in that election, expressing themselves on their own behalf. No you can distinguish that with what is going on here. The day Godwin Obaseki was declared winner, I was with him and he made an acceptance speech and we drove round Benin City in a procession celebrating and jubilating with people of Benin, there were no protests on streets.”
He however said a protest is expected to commence on Monday across the major cities and towns of the state in ridicule of the PDP protest.
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