Okpebholo Triumphs: Declared Edo Governor-Elect by INEC, Defeats Ighodalo and Akpata

The candidate of the All-Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Monday Okpebholo has been formally declared winner of Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State. In what was apparently a fiercely contested election and a very tight race, Okpebholo coasted home to victory with 291, 667 votes against the 247, 270 votes scored by its closest rival, Dr. Asue Ighodalo. The Labour Party, LP, came a very distant third with 2, 763 votes. Okpebholo won in 11 local governments areas while Ighodalo won in seven.

Returning Okpebholo as duly elected, Prof. Faruk Musa Kuta, vice chancellor of the University of Technology, Minna Niger State said “The candidate of the APC, having satisfied the requirement of the law, is hereby declared the winner of the election and is returned elected, throwing his supporters and party leaders into wild jubilation.

The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, had before the commencement of the declaration, attempted to abort the process, calling for the suspension of final announcement of a winner citing massive fraud, irregularities, and the slim margin of victory between the two leading candidates.

Making the demand at the resumed collation of election results at around 8.38 pm, the collation agent of the PDP, Tony Osaigbovo Iyoha wanted the discrepancies in the figures announced compared with what is on INEC portal be reviewed which he believed could significantly affect the outcome of the election. Iyoha declined to sign the final result sheet.

Prof. Kuta however insisted that the election would be concluded, asking all those with complaints to do so formally.