Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ali Modu Sheriff has denied celebrating the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 28 governorship election in Edo State.
This comes as he said he would not make further comments on the outcome of the election because he is yet to receive official report on what transpired.
Prior to the poll, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had announced Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the PDP candidate, leaving out Sheriff’s candidate Matthew Iduoriyekemwen.
But announcing the final result in Benin on Thursday, the electoral body declared APC’s Godwin Obaseki as winner of the exercise, polling 319,483 to defeat his closest rival, Ize-Iyamu, who garnered 253,173 votes.
The media was awash with reports that Sheriff was celebrating Obaseki’s victory.
In a statement by the media aide to Sheriff, Inuwa Bwala, the PDP chieftain said he has not accepted the result of the governorship election in Edo, adding that his reaction may not be different from the general position adopted by majority PDP members.
He said while he awaits reports from PDP field officers on the situation in the state, Sheriff has asked PDP members to remain calm, hopeful and determined in the pursuit of their mandate until the last is seen of the election.
According to him: “We have had situations in the past where results were released via the media, only for the official results to turn out otherwise and I do not want to react until officially briefed”.
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