APC, INEC Postpone Edo Election Material Inspection to Thursday

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State has announced that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has agreed to move the inspection of election materials to Thursday.

This decision was made to allow the APC additional time to prepare for the process.

Edo APC Chairman, Jarret Tenebe, along with the party’s legal counsel, Victor Ohiosumwan, informed journalists that the postponement was necessary due to a misunderstanding about the inspection schedule. According to Tenebe, the APC was not aware that the process would begin with the examination of the voters’ register and had not brought the materials required for comparison.

Tenebe expressed concerns over the integrity of the voters’ register, citing suspicions related to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which he claimed had been tampered with. “There are many suspicions because of the BVAS that was allegedly brought from the government house, and we want to ensure the register provided for inspection is authentic,” he said.

The APC’s concern stems from an ongoing legal battle within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which is currently before the Supreme Court. The APC claims that INEC’s earlier register excluded PDP candidate Asue Ighodalo, raising doubts about the accuracy of the documents.

The PDP’s legal team, also present at INEC’s Edo State office in Benin City, declined to speak to the press regarding the developments.

In a related matter, Edo INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Anubgum Onuoha, responded to previous allegations from the PDP that he had obstructed access to the BVAS system ahead of the gubernatorial election. Onuoha dismissed the claims as “baseless” and reiterated that all political parties, including the PDP, were invited to inspect the BVAS on Wednesday.

With the postponement, the inspection will now take place on Thursday, pending further developments.