Our reporter/ 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.
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.
The PDP Governors’ Forum also asked the electoral umpire to respect the will of the people of Edo State and let their votes count. The Forum alleged that the exercise was fraught with electoral malpractices.
The PDP governors led to Edo by Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, faulted some of the results announced, saying they don’t tally with those on IReV.
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