- The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially announced APC’s Monday Okpebholo as the victor in the Edo electoral contest
- The announcement was made by Professor Adamu Kuta, the returning officer for the election
- Okphebholo amassed 291,667 votes to defeat his nearest challenger, PDP’s Ighodalo who gathered 247,274
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Monday Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the 2024 gubernatorial election in Edo State.
Okpebholo emerged victorious after securing the highest number of votes in 11 out of the state's 18 local government areas.
The election, which held on Saturday, September 21, saw significant voter turnout across 4,519 polling units in all local governments of the state, where a new governor was elected to succeed Godwin Obaseki.
INEC announces Okpebholo as winner of Edo election
Professor Faruq Adamu Kuta, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, and the Returning Officer for the election, announced the results on Sunday, September 22.
According to Kuta, Okpebholo of the APC won the governorship race with 291,667 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, came second with 247,274 votes. Olumide Akpata, representing the Labour Party (LP), finished in third place with 22,763 votes.
"I, Prof. Faruq Adamu Kuta, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Edo State governorship election held on September 21, 2024. Monday Okpebholo of the APC, having met the necessary legal requirements, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected," Kuta announced.
17 candidates contested the election, including 16 male candidates and one female, in an off-cycle poll in the country, and the first during President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
However, controversy surrounded the election results even before they were officially announced. Asue Ighodalo of the PDP raised concerns, describing the poll as potentially the worst in Nigeria's electoral history. He cited discrepancies across more than 20 polling units in the state.
Famous artiste and PDP supporter, David Adeleke, otherwise known as Davido, labelled INEC as the most dangerous institution in the country, and urged people to be vigilant.
Governor Godwin Obaseki, the outgoing governor, also expressed concern about the collation process. In the early hours of Sunday, Obaseki, accompanied by Deputy Inspector General of Police Frank Mba, visited the INEC collation centre to seek clarity after reportedly being unable to reach the state's Resident Electoral Commissioner. Obaseki's visit followed complaints that PDP agents were denied access to the collation process.
Breakdown of Edo guber election results
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
EdoDecides 2024: Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata loses his polling unit to PDP’s Asue Ighodalo
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that Olumide Akpata, the Labour Party flagbearer in the Edo State governorship election, lost his polling unit to Asue Ighodalo, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In the results from Polling Unit 11, Ward 06, Oredo Local Government Area, Benin City, Ighodalo secured 41 votes to defeat Akpata, the former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), who garnered 32 votes. The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo, came in third with 19 votes.
