President Bola Tinubu and former President Muhammadu Buhari have hailed the victory of Sen. Monday Okpebholo, candidate of the All Progessives Congress (APC) after he was declared winner of the Saturday governorship election in Edo by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
INEC’s Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Faruk Kuta, announced the winner on Sunday in Benin after the collation of results from 18 local government areas in the state.
Kuta, who is the Vice-Chancelleor, Federal University of Technology, Minna, said Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes to defeat Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 247,274 votes.
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The candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr Olumide Akpata, came third with 22,763 votes.
Kuta, therefore,, said “that Okpebholo Monday of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared winner and hereby returned elected.”
A breakdown of the results show that APC won in eleven local governments, while PDP won in seven areas.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor-elect is a serving senator representing Edo Central at the National Assembly.
Earlier, the agent of the PDP at the collation centre, Mr Osaigbovo Iyhoa, had demanded the suspension of the declaration of the rresuls.
He said the results were fraught with irregularities in many local government areas.
He added that the party had submitted a petition to the commission, urging the returning officer to suspend the process, pending the determination of issues raised.
Tinubu commends Party leaders
Tinubu commended APC national leaders, Edo leaders and party governors for working hard to achieve victory, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser, Information and Strategy, said in a statement.
The President said the victory testified the people’s support for the ruling party, progressive ideals, economic reengineering programme and commitment to improving the lives of Nigerians.
He urged Okpebholo not to gloat over his victory but to see it as a call to service.
He encouraged him to demonstrate magnanimity by reaching out to his political rivals and unite the people of Edo to ensure development.
Tinubu also praised other candidates who participated in the election for their contributions to advancing Nigeria’s democracy, saying that peaceful political contests such as the one on Saturday portrays Nigeria as a stable democracy.
The President urged all those aggrieved by the election outcome to seek redress through legal channels.
In addition, the President commended the people of Edo for their orderly and peaceful conduct during the election, underscoring the country’s maturing democracy after 25 years.
“I commend INEC and our security agencies for working round the clock to conduct a successful, peaceful and largely hitch-free exercise.
“INEC has once again demonstrated that it is committed to organising free and fair election in our country,” Tinubu added.
Buhari says victory ‘historic’
Buhari, in the congratulatory message, described the victory as “historic”.
He expressed hope that the incoming government would work together with everyone to strengthen democracy and maintain the trajectory of the state’s development.
He prayed for a new lease of life for Edo State and its people, and commended law enforcement agencies for the efforts that ensured a peaceful election.
