Obi Takes Edo As Tinubu, Atiku Fall Short of 25% of Total Votes Cast

The Labour Party’s Peter Obi has emerged winner of last Saturday’s presidential election in Edo State. According to the final figues announced Monday evening by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC state collation officer, Prof. Nyaudoh Ndaeyo, Vice Chancellor of the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Obi polled a total of 331,163 votes to win the state.
Candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar scored 144,471 and 89,585, respectively, while Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP scored 2,743, and the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, 4082.
The other two leading candidates – APC and PDP – failed to meet the mandatory requirement of 25% of total votes cast.
Though 2, 501, 081 persons were registered to vote in the state, only 603, 894 persons turned out for the exercise, an indication of voter apathy. Of this number, 600, 395 voted, with 581,266, valid votes, and 19, 129 rejected. LP won the presidential election in 12 Local Government Areas of Igueben, Esan Central, Esan North-East, Egor, Esan South-East, Esan West, Uhunmwonde, Orhionmwon, Ovia South-West, Oredo, Ikpoba-Okha and Ovia North-East, while APC won in six LGAs of Owan West, Owan East, Akoko-Edo, Etsako Central, Etsako West and Etsako East.
At the end of collation, agents of LP, PDP and APC, of the 18 participating political parties, signed the collated results.