Edo 2024 Election: INEC Declares APC’s Okpebholo Winner

• As PDP kicks, seeks INEC Chairman’s intervention

Amid protestations from the Peoples Democratic Party and other parties, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the keenly contested Edo State governorship election held on Saturday, September 21, 2024.

According to the electoral umpire, Okpebholo, 54, garnered a total of 291,667 votes to defeat his closet rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who amassed 247,274 with Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) in third position with only 22,761 votes.

This is as 14 other candidates, who vied for the governorship seat on various parties’ platforms, made an insignificant impact in the race.

At exactly 09:27 pm on Sunday, INEC’s Returning Officer for the poll, Professor Faruk Kuta, declared to the delight of APC supporters at the collation centre in Benin City, the state capital; “That Okpebholo Monday of APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,”

Prof Kuta, who is the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, in Niger State, eventually made the declaration after a series of recesses, indicating that the APC candidate won in 11 of the 18 local government areas, leaving the PDP candidate with victory in eight (7) other local councils.

Protests, Allegations Of Irregularities
The Edo Central Senator was declared winner of Saturday’s election amid protests by supporters of the PDP with allegations that the results were fabricated and did not represent the will of the Edo people.

There were protests in parts of the state capital and outside the INEC collation centre, which was heavily guarded for the collation exercise.

Before the final declaration, the PDP in Edo appealed to the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, to review the collated results.

PDP Chairman in the South-South State, Dr Anthony Aziegbemi, told newsmen on Sunday in Benin that the entries the electoral officers made were quite different from the actual results uploaded on the INEC IREV at the polling units.

Aziegbemi noted that the results had allegedly been inflated in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) through deducted votes from the PDP.