Ahmadu Fintiri, Governor of Adamawa State, has expressed deep concern over what he described as an attack on Nigeria’s democracy following the recently concluded Edo gubernatorial election. On September 22, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) the winner of the election, with 291,667 votes.
He defeated Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 247,274 votes, while Labour Party candidate Olumide Akpata trailed with 22,763 votes.
Fintiri, who served as the chairman of the PDP campaign council for the election, criticized the conduct of the poll, accusing it of being plagued by “vote-buying, disruption of collation processes, and suspicious results.
“In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he stated, “I weep for Nigeria’s democracy after witnessing the shameful Edo gubernatorial poll.”
Before the final results were announced, Fintiri, alongside Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and PDP candidate Asue Ighodalo, held a press conference to express their concerns. Fintiri shared collated results from some Edo Local Government Areas, which sparked criticism from opposition politicians, who accused him of overstepping his authority. However, Fintiri clarified that he was merely sharing results from INEC’s IREV portal.
He also condemned the actions of APC leaders during the election, alleging that the APC national chairman flew into Edo on election day, violating movement restrictions, while APC governors used armoured escorts to intimidate voters. Fintiri described these actions as a “blatant disregard for democratic norms” and accused INEC of favouring the APC.
“Nigerians are outraged, slamming INEC for compromising and favouring APC,” Fintiri said. “The vote-buying, disruption of collation processes, and suspicious results undermine trust in our democracy.”
He urged Nigerians to demand accountability and insisted that democracy is under attack, calling for an end to what he described as a “rape of democracy.”
Fintiri also alleged that PDP agents were denied access to the collation centre, further questioning the integrity of the electoral process.