After months of intense politicking in Edo State, 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.
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. Fourteen other candidates contested the seat but got less than the three frontline candidates.
“That Okpebholo Monday of APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” 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.
Kuta, the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, in Niger State, declared the winner of the poll after a series of recesses.
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.
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.
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.
The declaration on Sunday evening brings Okpebholo closer to achieving his goal of becoming governor of the state and places his party, the APC, on the cusp of a return to power at the Dennis Osadebe Government House.
The APC lost power in the state in 2020 after the incumbent, Godwin Obaseki, defected from the party to the PDP in the heat of an intra-party squabble and fallout with his predecessor, Oshiomhole. After he was denied the APC governorship ticket, Obaseki joined the PDP and clinched the ticket to defeat APC’s Osagie Ize-Iyamu to seal his second term, which will end on November 12, 2024.
Obaseki campaigned strongly for Ighodalo, while Oshiomhole was a focal figure for Okpebholo’s campaign, attending rallies and interviews on behalf of the APC candidate.
Protests, Allegations Of Irregularities
Okpebholo was declared winner of Saturday’s election amid protests by supporters of the PDP who strongly posited that the results were fabricated and did not represent the will of the people.
There were protests in parts of the state capital and outside the INEC collation centre, which was heavily guarded for the collation exercise.
Earlier in the day, Obaseki stormed the collation centre to protest the exclusion of PDP agents from the venue but was escorted out of the premises by armed security agents.
At the collation centre, PDP agent, Tony Iyoha, called for the suspension of the entire election over alleged irregularities.
Similarly, the party’s chairman in the state, Anthony Aziegbemi, explained that the discrepancies between figures on the EC8 form don’t tally with those on INEC’s IReV platform.
According to INEC, 2,249,780 persons with Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) decided Obaseki’s successor on Saturday, September 21, 2024.
Edo is one of the eight states where governorship elections are held off-season due to litigations and court judgements. Others are Anambra, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Osun and Ondo.
Observers Speak
A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR), observed voter inducement at polling units (PUs) in the state.
“Situation Room observers reported widespread instances of blatant vote buying and selling across several polling units, despite the huge presence of security personnel,” the group said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.
The statement was co-signed by Yunusa Z. Ya’u, Mimidoo Achakpa and Franklin Oloniju.
“The price of votes ranged from ₦5,000 to ₦10,000 per voter in several locations, including PU08 and 09 Ward 2, Owan-East LGA; PU 02 Ward 2, Etsako-West LGA; and several polling units in Egor, Oredo and Owan-West LGAs.
“In some cases, voters were also induced with food items such as bread,” the group said.
The Situation Room is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) including Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), YIAGA Africa, are TAF Africa.
Others are Emma Ezeazu Centre for Good Governance and Accountability (formerly Alliance for Credible Elections, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Kimpact Development Initiative, Democratic Action Group (DAG), Women’s Rights to Education Programme, Joint National Association of Persons with Disability (JONAPWD), DIG Ebonyi, New Initiative for Social Development (NISD), Life And Peace Development Organization (LAPDO), Rural Youth Initiative, Challenged Parenthood Initiative (CPI), Centre for Health and Development in Africa (CHEDA) and Josemaria Escriva Foundation.
Source: Channels TV Online
