The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 28 governorship election in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has appealed to his supporters to remain calm over the poll result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
INEC had on Thursday declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Godwin Obaseki, the winner of the election, with a total of 319,483 votes to defeat Ize-Iyamu, who scored 253,173 votes.
But the development had sparked protests by supporters of the party, including some youth groups in the state.
The demonstrators, who marched through Akpakpava and other adjoining streets, carried placards bearing various inscriptions, on Saturday, accused the APC of irregularities.
They called for a reversal of the results announced by the Returning Officer, Prof. Kayode Soremekun.
However, Ize-Iyamu, in a statement on Saturday, urged his supporters not to break the law as the party had many options on its next line of action.
According to him, while the result allegedly “exposes the fraud orchestrated by INEC,” the PDP could take a legal action, hold a world press conference to buttress its argument or “leave everything to God.”
Ize-Iyamu said, “I appeal to all of us, Edo people who feel dissatisfied, not to take laws into your hands or engage in violent demonstrations or destruction of public property. We still have many options.
“We can go to the elections tribunal. We can call a world press conference to let the world know what transpired or we can leave everything to God.
“No matter how you feel, please conduct yourselves in a civilised manner because the will of God must prevail. If God says I, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, will be governor, no amount of rigging can stop it. So, we must keep hope alive; let us continue to hope and believe in our country.”
