INEC Declares Okpebholo of APC as Winner Of Edo Gov Election

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the keenly contested Saturday, September 21, 2024 governorship election in the South-South state, ending months of intense politicking in Edo State.

Okpebholo, 54, secured 291,667 votes to defeat Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 247,274 votes and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) who came a distant third in the race with 22,763 votes among fourteen other candidates in the contest.

INEC’s Returning Officer for the poll, Prof Faruk Kuta, said at exactly 09:27 pm, to delightful cheers from APC supporters at the collation centre in Benin City, the state capital on Sunday,

“That Okpebholo Monday of APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.”

Asue Ighodalo, Monday Okpebholo and Olumide Akpata

The APC candidate cleared over 10 of the 18 local government areas, leaving the PDP candidate with marginal victory in the other local councils. The APC gained control in two of the three battleground senatorial districts in the state.

See table showing the breakdown of votes by LGAs for the top three candidates:                            

LGA        APC        LP           PDP

Igueben               5907      494        8470

Esan West           12952    342        11004

Owan West         12277    201        11284

Uhunmwonde    8776      767        9339

Ovia North East 13225    1675      15311

Esan South East 8398      98          14199

Egor       16760    1966      14658

Akoko Edo           34847    2239      15865

Esan Central       10990    418        8618

Esan North East 10648    194        12522

Ovia South West 10150    849        10260

Orhionmwon      16059    556        14614

Owan East           19380    446        14189

Etsako East         20167    604        9683

Etsako Central    11906    381        8455

Etsako West       32107    2116      17483

Oredo    30780    5389      24938

Ikpoba-Okha       16338    4026      26382

                              291,667 22,763  247,274

 Okpebholo, the Edo Central Senator, leveraged significant influence in his senatorial district, and joined forces with his colleague in the National Assembly from Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, to defeat Ighodalo, the anointed candidate of the outgoing governor, Godwin Obaseki.

Okpebholo’s victory could also be attributed to his alliance with Dennis Idahosa, his running mate who is a federal lawmaker; and Obaseki’s estranged deputy, Philip Shaibu.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Senator Monday Okpebholo on his victory at the polls.

Tinubu commended APC national leaders, Edo leaders and party governors for working hard to achieve victory, Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser, Information and Strategy, said in a statement.

The President said the victory testified to the people’s support for the ruling party, progressive ideals, economic re-engineering programme and commitment to improving the lives of Nigerians.

He urged Okpebholo not to gloat over his victory but to see it as a call to service.

He encouraged him to demonstrate magnanimity by reaching out to his political rivals and uniting the people of Edo to ensure development.

Tinubu also praised other candidates who participated in the election for their contributions to advancing Nigeria’s democracy, saying that peaceful political contests such as the one on Saturday portray Nigeria as a stable democracy.

The President urged all those aggrieved by the election outcome to seek redress through legal channels.

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