THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Edo State after winning 11 out of the 18 LGAs of the state.
Voters across 4,519 polling units in the 18 local government areas of Edo State turned out en masse on Saturday to elect a new governor to succeed outgoing Godwin Obaseki.
Announcing the result on Sunday evening, the Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Faruq Adamu Kuta, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, revealed that Okpebholo won the election after securing the highest number of votes.
He said Monday Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, while Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came second with a total of 247,274 votes.
Meanwhile, Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) polled 22,763 votes to come third in the election.
He said, “I, Prof. Faruq Adamu Kuta, I certify that I’m the Returning officer for the Edo State governorship election held on 21 September 2024… That Okpebholo of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner of the election and returned elected.”
The election, one of the off-cycle polls in 2024, featured 17 candidates, consisting of 16 males and one female.
Meanwhile, before the election result was announced, PDP candidate Asue Ighodalo stated that the election could be the worst in Nigeria’s history, adding that more than 20 polling units across the state were affected by various discrepancies.
Similarly, the governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki, who was escorted out of the INEC premises by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Frank Mba, in the early hours of Sunday, stated that his visit to the collation centre was to obtain first-hand information about the collation process after unsuccessful attempts to reach the state’s REC regarding reports that PDP agents were not allowed into the collation process.
Here is the breakdown of how voters cast their votes across the 18 local governments in the state.
IGUEBEN LGA
REG. VOTERS: 54549
ACCREDITED: 15274
- PDP: 8,470
- APC: 5,907
- LP: 494
VALID: 14,989
REJECTED: 278
TOTAL VOTE CAST: 15,267
ESAN WEST LGA
REG:112067
ACCREDITED: 25,702
- APC: 12,952
- PDP: 11,004
- LP: 342
Valid: 24691
Rejected: 693
Total cast: 25384
OWAN WEST LGA
REGISTERED 67076
ACCREDITED 24311
- APC: 12277
- PDP:11284
- LP: 201
VALID:23904
REJECTED: 391
TOTAL: 24,295
UHUMWONDE LGA
REGISTERED:92,169
ACCREDITED:20,044
- APC: 8,776
- PDP:9,339
- LP:769
VALID:19,223
REJECTED:553
TOTAL:19,776
OVIA NORTH-EAST LGA
REGISTERED: 177,106
ACCREDITED: 32,441
- APC: 13,225
- PDP: 15,311
- LP: 1,675
VALID: 30,783
REJECTED: 1,312
TOTAL: 32,095
ESAN SOUTH-EAST LGA
REGISTERED: 90,240
ACCREDITED: 23,390
- APC: 8,398
- PDP: 14,199
- LP: 98
VALID: 22,780
REJECTED: 356
TOTAL: 23,136
EGOR LGA
REGISTERED: 242,266
ACCREDITED: 35,463
- APC: 16,760
- PDP: 14,658
- LP: 1,966
VALID: 34,022
REJECTED: 1,018
TOTAL: 35,040
AKOKO EDO LGA
REGISTERED: 144,379
ACCREDITED: 54,395
- APC: 34,837
- PDP: 15,865
- LP: 2,239
VALID: 53,547
REJECTED: 331
TOTAL: 53,878
ESAN CENTRAL LGA
REGISTERED:68,338
ACCREDITED:20,580
- APC: 10,990
- PDP:8,618
- LP: 418
VALID: 20,198
REJECTED: 361
TOTAL: 20,559
ESAN NORTH-EAST LGA
REGISTERED:106,280
ACCREDITED:24,430
- APC:10,648
- PDP:12,522
- LP:194
VALID:23,637
REJECTED:674
TOTAL: 24,311
OVIA SOUTH-WEST LGA
REGISTERED:112,091
ACCREDITED: 23,196
- APC: 10,150
- PDP: 10,260
- LP: 849
VALID: 21,710
REJECTED: 1,086
TOTAL: 22,796
ORHIOMWON LGA
REGISTERED: 139,260
ACCREDITED: 33,196
- APC: 16,059
- PDP: 14,614
- LP: 556
VALID: 31,559
REJECTED: 1,091
TOTAL: 32,650
OWAN EAST LGA
REGISTERED:106,252
ACCREDITED:34,618
- APC:19,380
- PDP:14,189
- LP:446
VALID:34,157
REJECTED:420
TOTAL: 34,577
ETSAKO EAST LGA
REGISTERED:102,754
ACCREDITED:35,084
- APC: 20,167
- PDP:9,683
- LP:604
VALID:30,926
REJECTED:435
TOTAL: 31,361
ETSAKO CENTRAL LGA
REGISTERED:59,430
ACCREDITED:21,465
- APC:11,906
- PDP:8,455
- LP:381
VALID:20,851
REJECTED:294
TOTAL: 21,145
ETSAKO WEST LGA
REGISTERED:186,449
ACCREDITED:54,304
- APC: 32,107
- PDP:17,483
- LP:2,116
VALID:52,226
REJECTED:1,188
TOTAL: 53,414
OREDO LGA
REGISTERED: 35,6442
ACCREDITED: 64,812
- APC: 30,780
- PDP: 24,938
- LP: 5,389
VALID: 62,703
REJECTED: 1,339
TOTAL: 64,042
IKPOBA-OKHA LGA
REGISTERED:
ACCREDITED:
- APC: 16,338
- PDP:26,382
- LP: 4,026
VALID:48784
REJECTED:1055
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Senator Monday Okpebholo on his victory at the polls.
President Tinubu also commends APC national leaders, Edo State leaders, and party governors for working hard to achieve victory. He says 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.
President Tinubu, in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, his Special Adviser (Information & Strategy), urges Senator Okpebholo not to gloat over his victory but to see it as a challenging call to service. He encourages 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 praises 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 urges all those aggrieved by the election outcome to seek redress through the legal channels.
In addition, the president commends 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”, President Tinubu says.
Eighteen-Eleven Media