Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Edo State gubernatorial election, has asserted that his party won the just-concluded poll based on the tallies recorded on the Form EC8A result sheets from the polling units.
Speaking in an interview with Channels TV From 2:55, Ighodalo explained that his team had anticipated potential irregularities and had a plan in place to ensure they obtained all their Form EC8A documents promptly after the elections.
“If you look at our electoral process, the BVAS, IREV and all the result sheets. The fundamental and most important result sheet is the form EC8A. We anticipated a lot of what subsequently happened and we had in place a plan to ensure that we got all our form EC8A as quickly as possible after the elections,” Ighodalo said.
The PDP candidate emphasized that the Form EC8A is the most critical result sheet, as it provides a clear and accurate record of the votes cast at each polling unit. He argued that the Form EC8A is the foundational document that shows the actual results from the polling units, which are then transmitted upwards to the subsequent levels of collation.
“So when you add up the numbers on our form EC8A, you will see that we won the election very clearly,” Ighodalo asserted.
The PDP candidate explained the process in detail, stating that the Form EC8A is the “basic document for determining the election and the results of the election.” He noted that the results from the polling units, as recorded on the Form EC8A, are then transmitted to the ward collation center, the local government collation center, and finally the state collation center.
“The from EC8A is the basic document for determining the election and the results of the election. When you take the Form EC8A and you take it to the ward collation Center transmitting it to the 8bs and then you move on to the local government collation centers. And then you move on to the state collation Center, so that is how it works. But the fundamental document that shows what happens at the polling units is the Form EC8A and it is the result from the polling units that are transmitted upwards to the ward and to the local government and to the state,” Ighodalo explained.
Ighodalo’s claim that the PDP won the Edo gubernatorial election based on the Form EC8A results directly challenges the outcome announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, as the winner.