Monday Okpebholo, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has been declared the winner of the Edo state governorship election.
Farouk Adamu, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returning officer, announced the results in Benin City, the Edo state capital, on Sunday.
Okpebholo, a serving senator, won the election with 291,667 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Asue Ighodalo, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who got 247,274 votes.
Olumide Akpata, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), came a distant third with 22, 763 votes.
The APC won the election in 11 of the 18 LGAs in Edo, while the PDP secured victories in the remaining seven LGAs.
The election took place in 4,519 polling units across the 18 local government areas of Edo State.
Okpebohlo’s victory came amid complaints from Governor Godwin Obaseki, the PDP Campaign Council, PDP governors, and civil society organisations, who picked holes in the hitches that trailed the collation process midway and urged the INEC to address the situation.
A new Edo is rising— Okpebholo
Speaking shortly after being declared winner of the election, Senator Okpebholo promised to develop Edo State, adding that Edo was rising.
He said: “Edo people have elected the right person for the job. A new Edo is rising. I am here to develop Edo State, I want to transform Edo the way it should be. I want to tell you that I will start from where Adams Oshiomhole stopped. Edo will receive a new transformation and by the grace of God, Edo will stand firm.”
Processes, rule of law disregarded —Obaseki
In his reaction, Governor Obaseki urged Edo residents to remain calm over the outcome of the poll as announced by the electoral commission.
Obaseki said the election was marred with disregard to processes and rule of law, but urged aggrieved persons to explore the legal options to express their grievances.
The statement reads: “In the last few months, the various political parties have embarked on very rigorous campaigns to sell their respective candidates for the office of governor to the people of Edo State in an exercise which came to a climax yesterday with the gubernatorial election.
“The attractive thing about democracy is the power it bestows on the people to choose who governs them. Therefore, when this power is blatantly seized from the people, it is not just a tragedy, but a travesty of democracy.
“Regrettably, the outcome of the September 21st governorship election appears to have daunted the spirit of many Edo people who feel powerless in the face of the brute force of the institutions that are supposed to protect them. “It is therefore understandable that many people feel sad and aggrieved.
“But in the midst of this despair, I am urging all my fellow Edo citizens to maintain calm and not resort to violence and destruction of property in spite of this provocation.
“Peace and justice will always win in the end and this is my prescription to all the good people of Edo State who feel vexed and violated at this time.
“Clearly, it is obvious to the least discerning, the amount of impunity and reckless disregard for processes and law that was displayed in this gubernatorial election.
“In a democracy, there are safeguards for addressing grievances, and we hope that those affected will seek resolution for this blatant disregard of law and process.
“With this in mind, I implore all Edo people to go about their lawful businesses and rest assured of the commitment of our government to your well-being and security.”
‘I Weep For Nigeria’s Democracy,’ Fintiri
Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, in a statement on Sunday condemned the outcome of the Edo State governorship election.
“I weep for Nigeria’s democracy after witnessing the shameful Edo Gubernatorial poll. 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 from the various Local Government Areas,” Fintiri said.
“What’s truly shameful is APC’s national chairman flying into Edo with a private jet on election day, defying movement restrictions, while their Governors used armoured escorts to intimidate voters.
“This blatant disregard for democratic norms is the real brigandage. Nigerians are outraged, slamming INEC for compromising and favoring APC. The reported vote-buying, disruption of collation processes, and suspicious results with more votes than accredited voters undermine trust in our democracy. Democracy indeed is under attack.
“We must condemn this rape of democracy and demand accountability. The world is watching, and Nigeria deserves better.”
PDP supporters protest alleged manipulation
Earlier, supporters of PDP protested against the collation of the Edo governorship election results in Benin, the state capital.
The demonstration took place near the headquarters of the INEC, where the results were being collated.
Earlier in the day, some PDP members gathered outside the collation centre, accusing INEC of manipulating the election outcome.
Police officers dispersed the protesters around 2:45 a.m. using teargas canisters.
Tony Iyoha, a PDP agent at the collation centre, also alleged electoral fraud, claiming that some results were “manufactured.”
“It’s what we have been reduced to as Nigerians, where people go out to vote, and after exercising their franchise, you come out and manufacture results,” he said.
CSOs express concern, say collation disruptions affect result credibility
Some accredited civil society organizations monitoring the election, yesterday, expressed concern over transparency in the collation of the poll results.
The concerns were contained in a statement jointly signed by Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room, Yiaga Africa, Kimpact Development Initiative, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, ElectHER, TAF Africa, and the Centre For Democracy & Development, CDD West-Africa.
The statement read: “We, the undersigned accredited civil society organizations observing the 2024 Edo governorship elections, express concern over the transparency of the collation of the election results.
“Reports of disruptions at ward and local government collation centres in Ikpoba/Okha, Etsako West, Egor and Oredo LGAs, including intimidation of INEC officials and attempts to collate results contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines, raise significant concerns about the credibility of the results collation process.
“We acknowledge INEC’s recent statement recognizing reports of result mutilation and its commitment to investigate and remedy any proven violations.
“In view of this, we urge INEC to invoke its powers under Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022 to review any declarations and returns where results were not declared voluntarily or violated provisions of the electoral act and INEC regulations and guidelines.”
The statement also called on security agencies not to interfere with the process, “We also call on security agencies to refrain from interference in the collation process and to ensure that accredited party agents, the media, and election observers are granted full access to collation centres.
“We wish to emphasize that the role of security agencies in the election is to safeguard the process and not to create a situation that will undermine the transparency of the process and thus impact negatively on the credibility of the outcome of the election.”
It’s a call to service – Nigeria’s President congratulates Okpebholo
President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Senator Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Saturday’s Edo State governorship election, on his victory at the polls.
The President, in a statement his Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga commended APC national leaders, Edo State leaders, and party governors for working hard to achieve the victory.
He said the victory testified to the people’s support for the ruling party, its progressive ideals, its economic re-engineering programme and its commitment to improving the lives of Nigerians.
He urged Senator Okpebholo not to gloat over his victory but to see it as a challenging call to service.
He encouraged him to demonstrate magnanimity by reaching out to his political rivals and uniting the people of Edo State to ensure its development.
President Tinubu also praised other candidates who participated in the election for their contributions to advancing Nigeria’s democracy, saying 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 the legal channels.
According to Onanuga, the President commended the people of Edo State for their orderly and peaceful conduct during the election, underscoring the maturing of Nigeria’s democracy after 25 years.
“I commend the INEC and our security agencies for working round the clock to conduct a successful, peaceful and largely hitch-free exercise.
“INEC has once again demonstrated that it is committed to organising a free and fair election in our country”, the President said.
It is a personal fulfilment — Oshiomhole
In his remarks, Senator Adams Oshiomhole said Edo State said the outcome of the election is a personal fulfilment adding that the governor-elect will now be governed by a combination of rich native wisdom.
He said: “Everything and anything that God cannot do, does not exist and that is when ordinary men think they have power, those with wisdom know that power resides with God; and only those who wield it on planet earth, wield with wisdom.
First, we give thanks to God that we did all those campaigns without causalities and without allegations that the candidate or anyone of us visited violence on anyone even when they killed his bodyguard to frighten him. My son whom I am pleased in will not be frightened.
So, tonight (yesterday night) it can only be joy and I give all the praises to God that he has made his son, who He has chosen to clean the mess of the Obaseki administration.
Edo will now be governed by a combination of native wisdom because the governor-elect is familiar with the customs and traditions of Edo State.
“For me, it is a personal fulfilment and to God be the glory.”
Okpebholo’s Win, A ‘New Lease Of Life’ For Edo — Buhari
Also, former Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated the Edo State Governor-elect, Senator Monday Okpebholo, over his “prized, historic electoral victory.”
In a statement congratulating Okpebholo by Garba Shehu, his his media aide, Buhari expressed hope that both the leaders of the incoming administration and of the parties that lost will work together to strengthen democracy and maintain the trajectory of the state’s development.
“Congratulations to the APC and the election winner, Senator Monday Okpebholo on the historic electoral victory, and my warmest wishes for a new lease of life for Edo State and its people.
“I very much hope the winners and the losers will work together to strengthen democracy and maintain the trajectory of development in the state,” the former President said.
He commended the law enforcement agencies for the efforts that they put into ensuring a peaceful election, as well as electoral officials “who strive to improve with each election.”
“I pray that the Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country, will continue to achieve remarkable progress under democracy,” Buhari added.
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