Fintiri: I Weep for Nigeria — Edo Election Was Rape of Democracy

Fintiri: I Weep for Nigeria — Edo Election Was Rape of Democracy

Ahmadu Fintiri, the Governor of Adamawa State, has expressed deep sorrow over what he describes as an attack on Nigeria’s democracy following the recent governorship election in Edo State.

The election, held on September 22, culminated in the declaration of Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner, securing 291,667 votes against Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who received 247,274 votes.

Fintiri, who served as the chairman of the PDP campaign council for the election, criticised the process as being tainted by “vote-buying, disruption of collation processes, and suspicious results.”

He took to social media platform X to lament, “I weep for Nigeria’s democracy after witnessing the shameful Edo Gubernatorial poll.”

Prior to the official results, Fintiri held a press conference with Godwin Obaseki, the Edo governor, and Ighodalo.

During this briefing, he shared collated results from some local government areas, which drew criticism from opposing politicians who accused him of overstepping his authority.

Fintiri countered these allegations, stating, “The APC’s desperate attempts to discredit me by falsely claiming I announced results won’t distract from the real issue. I merely shared results from INEC’s IREV portal, as collated by INEC.”

He condemned the APC’s actions, highlighting instances of intimidation, including the national chairman’s arrival in Edo on election day via private jet, defying movement restrictions, and the use of armoured escorts to intimidate voters.

“This blatant disregard for democratic norms is the real brigade,” he asserted.

Fintiri emphasised that the reported irregularities have led to widespread outrage among Nigerians, who are calling for accountability. “Democracy indeed is under attack.

We must condemn this rape of democracy and demand accountability. The world is watching, and Nigeria deserves better,” he concluded.

Additionally, he alleged that PDP agents were denied access to the collation centre, further undermining the election’s integrity.