Edo guber election: INEC declares APC Sen Okpebholo winner

.Floors PDP’s Ighodalo in 12 LGAs

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC on Sunday declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, and Senator representing Edo Central in the National Assembly Senator Monday Okpebholo as the winner of the 2024 Edo State Governorship Election.

Okpebholo defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr. Asue Akintunde Ighodalo, in the keenly contested race across the state’s 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) results of the elections showed that the APC won in 12 LGAs, while the PDP claimed victory in only six.

The APC garnered 291,169 votes, while the PDP trailed behind with 246,645 votes.

In Akoko-Edo, the APC recorded a substantial win with 34,847 votes, leaving PDP with 15,865 votes.

The APC also won in Egor, securing 16,760 votes, while the PDP got 14,658 votes. The APC also won in Esan Central (10,990 votes), Etsako Central (11,906 votes), and Etsako West, where Okpebholo secured 32,107 votes, compared to PDP’s 17,483.

However, the PDP won in Esan North East, where it secured 12,522 votes to the APC’s 10,648, and Esan South East, where PDP polled 14,199 votes against APC’s 8,398.

The PDP also had a strong showing in Ikpoba-Okha, where it won with 26,382 votes, while APC got 16,338 votes.

In the state capital, Oredo the APC scored 30,780 votes, with the PDP getting 24,938 votes. Other notable wins for the APC included Orhionmwon(16,059 votes) and Owan East (19,380 votes), helping Okpebholo solidify his path to victory.

According to the INEC a total of 621,435 votes were cast in the election, with the APC emerging as the winner after a close race in several LGAs.

Senator Monday Okpebholo’s win comes from his appeal to voters in both rural and urban areas, where his message of infrastructure development, security, and economic growth resonated. Okpebholo’s strategic ground game and support from key political figures like serving Senator Adams Oshiomhole, former Governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Senator Mathew Urhoghide, Engr Ogbeide-Ihama, Rt Hon Peter Akpatason, Rt Hon Julius Ihonvbere were crucial factors in his victory.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Dr. Anugbum Onuoha, said the APC scored the highest number of votes in 12 out of the 18 LGAs in the state

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors have advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to respect the people’s choice expressed on Saturday’s Governorship Election in Edo State.

This was contained in a statement signed by Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, Governor, Bauchi State & Chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum on Sunday.

“We look forward to the announcement of a result that truly represents the wishes of the Edo people as freely expressed through their votes yesterday (i.e. Saturday)

“Finally, we stand with our Governors, H/E Fintiri, H/E Diri, H/E Agbu Kefas and H/E Oborevwori of Adamawa, Bayelsa, Taraba and Delta States respectively, on all the actions and positions that they have taken on our behalf, with respect to maintaining the sanctity of the elections”, the PDP Governors said.

Commending some PDP Governors who monitored the election in accordance with the law and guided the electorate to remain calm and law abiding throughout the entire process, the Forum advised the public “to disregard the mischievous accusation by the APC that anyone usurped INEC’s responsibility, let alone distinguished Nigerians who are governors in their respective states”.

“We have no doubt that given the laudable achievements of the exiting Governor, His Excellency Godwin Obaseki, @GovernorObaseki and the qualities of our governorship candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, @Aighodalo the enlightened Edo electorate would have had no difficulty in making the right choice, particularly given the hardship that the APC @OfficialAPCNg Administration is spreading nationwide”, the PDP Governors further said.

In a related development, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo state has alleged differences between results uploaded from the BVAS machines into the INEC portal and what is contained in result sheets which were eventually collated at the state collation centre.

It has also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to do the verification of its claims before the final declaration of results.

Addressing a press conference in Benin City Sunday afternoon, the Edo State chairman of the PDP, Hon. Tony Aziegbemi said that while the collated results from INEC portal for Akoko Edo Local Government Area shows that the APC scored 25,010 votes, the Local Government Returning entered 34,847 adding that while the PDP scored 18,620 as shown by results on INEC portal, 15,865 was entered into the result sheet.

In a petition to the Chairman of INEC, a copy of which was made available to newsmen he said: “It has come to our attention that the Electoral Officers appointed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the Edo State Governorship election, made entries that are totally different from the actual results as uploaded on the INEC IREV, thereby unjustly inflating votes in favour of the APC and deducting the votes of the PDP.

“For specifics please find below the following;

 

1. AKOKO EDO LGA

A simple collation of all the votes recorded in the polling unit results uploaded on the IREV shows that the APC obtained 25,010 votes while 34,847 votes was recorded in the EC8C declared by the LGA Returning Officer.

While for the PDP, a collation of the votes from the results uploaded on the IREV is

18,620 but 15,865 was returned on the EC8C declared by the LGA Returning Officer.

“It would interest you that In Ward 9 Akoko Edo LGA, from the 36 Polling Unit results uploaded on the IREV, the total votes obtained by APC is 2,350 while 9104 was entered into the EC8B result for APC. The total votes for PDP is 1359 while 633 was entered in the EC8B.

“Also, in Ward 6 Akoko Edo LGA, were elections did not hold in Ward 6 Units

12, 17, 15, 18, 14 and 16, results were returned for the said polling units in the Ward Result sheet (EC8B).

 

“B. EGOR LGA

” A simple collation of all the votes recorded in the polling unit results uploaded on the IREV shows that the APC obtained 10,972 votes while 16,760 votes was recorded in the EC8C declared by the LGA Returning Officer.

While for the PDP, a collation of the votes from the results uploaded on the IREV is 14,485 but 14,658 was returned on the EC8C declared by the LGA Returning Officer.

“It would interest you to note that the collation of the Egor LGA was not done at the designated LGA centre but was moved to the INEC State HQ and the PDP agent was not allowed access to be part of the exercise.

 

“C. ETSAKO WEST LGA

A simple collation of all the votes recorded in the polling unit results uploaded

“On the IREV shows that the APC obtained 29,858 votes while 32,107 votes was recorded in the EC8C declared by the LGA Returning Officer.

While for the PDP, a collation of the votes from the results uploaded on the IREV is 16,712 but 17,483 was returned on the EC8C declared by the LGA Returning Officer.

“The above highlighted irregularities which are very apparent are extremely scandalous and a brazen attempt to steal the mandate of the PDP and also a terrible embarrassment to the commission.

“We therefore demand the immediate re-collation and re computation of the actual results for the various polling units in the above highlighted Local Government Areas in compliance with the INEC guidelines and regulations which mandates that vote from various units and wards be properly collated”.

Meanwhile, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Edo State governorship election, has described the election as potentially the worst in Nigeria’s history, citing numerous alleged irregularities.

Speaking during a live press conference on Sunday, organised by the Edo PDP National Campaign Council and led by Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, Ighodalo expressed deep concerns over the election’s integrity.

He detailed several instances of electoral infractions across various polling units, particularly focusing on manipulations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Ighodalo said significant discrepancies, notably in polling units in Ikpoba/Okha Ologbo, where accredited voters were recorded as zero despite results being announced.

“The way this election is going, it is set to be the worst election in the history of this country,” Ighodalo stated.

He highlighted one instance where “the figure for accredited voters was nil, but the results claimed the APC had 227 votes, while the PDP had 103”.

“How is that even possible?” he asked.

He further elaborated on other irregularities in the same region, mentioning that in another polling unit, the number of accredited voters was 156, yet the APC was declared to have won 2,110 votes, while the PDP only received 57 votes, with no votes recorded for the Labour Party.

Governor Fintiri echoed Ighodalo’s concerns, revealing that PDP agents were denied access to collation centres, which raised further doubts about the election’s transparency.

He called on INEC to adhere to its own regulations, stating, “What we’re asking from INEC is to follow their rules.”

“REC has no business to announce results or move collation to INEC headquarters. This is our stand and we will go back to consult,” he said.

Earlier, the INEC has warned Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and other political actors over an alleged attempt to disrupt the collation of results of yesterday’s gubernatorial election.

Obaseki had in the wee hours of Sunday stormed the INEC office in Benin City amid alleged delays in result collation, sparking tensions.

Accompanied by security aides, he met with the Resident Electoral Commissioner for over an hour.

In that instance, the APC supporters protested, questioning the timing of the meeting.

According to the INEC, 90.33 percent of the polling unit results have been effectively uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal.

Most of the polling units announced so far were won by Monday Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

In a statement signed by the INEC National Commissioner & member Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, it warned, saying no political parties would be allowed to benefit from lawlessness.

The Commission raised concern on attack over a Resident Electoral Commissioner and threat to its office in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of the State.

The electoral umpire revealed that the attack led to a stampede and thereby leading to one of INEC’s officials being injured.

The statement partly read: “Following the conclusion of voting yesterday, the Commission activated the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal and uploaded the Polling Unit results in earnest. The same results have also been collated from all the 192 Wards.

“Similarly, collation has been concluded in most of the Local Government Areas and the designated officials are already at the collation centre in Benin City or on their way. We are set to commence State-level collation.

“However, the Commission received a deeply disturbing report from our Resident Electoral Commissioner of a threat to our  office in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area yesterday, resulting in a stampede in which one of our officials was injured.

“We are similarly distubed by the overnight presence and demonstrations by some political actors and their supporters at our State Head Office ahead of the commencement of final collation. These actions are uncalled for. Nobody should disrupt the process at any stage and no one will be allowed to benefit from lawlessness.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the collation of result will proceed as provided by the Electoral Act 2022 and our regulations and guidelines for the conduct of elections. There is a mechanism for redressing complaints during collation, including the power to review results declared under duress. The Commission will not hesitate to invoke such powers where necessary.

“Accredited party agents, observers and the media should be granted unimpeded access to all collation centres.”

The Commission therefore called on the security agencies to continue to maintain vigilance and professionalism that led to the peaceful conduct of the election.

In the meantime, APC has condemned the unauthorized declaration of the Edo election results by governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Alhaji Umaru Fintiri, Governor of Adamawa State.

The PDP governors were alleged to have addressed a press conference in Benin City on Sunday and declared its candidate, Dr Ighodalo as winner in the Edo Governorship Election held on Saturday.

The party described the action as a “display of utter desperation and mindless impunity,” pointing out that Governor Fintiri does not have any authority or the constitutional mandate to announce what he described as the results of the Edo State Gubernatorial election.

According to Barr Felix Morka National Publicity Secretary of the party, “APC condemns, in the strongest possible terms, this act of executive brigandage and contempt for the rule of law and democratic norms. Governor Fintiri has no authority to collate or announce result of any election.

“This unprecedented illegality is calculated to cause unrest in Edo State, disrupt the peaceful conclusion of the election process and undermine the lawful authority of INEC.

“We urge our law enforcement agencies to remain vigilant in order to maintain peace and security in the state.

“Fintiri’s bizarre action follows Governor Godwin Obaseki’s own disruptive overnight invasion of INEC’s premises in Benin City until he eventually withdrew in the early hours of Sunday,  following protests by APC leaders.

“The power and duty to conduct, collate  and announce the result of  the election is exclusively vested in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by law.

“By seeking to usurp the statutory power of INEC, Governor Fintiri engaged in unmistakable and egregious violation of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“It is a thing of disappointment that Governor Fintiri, a beneficiary of the electoral process, would so recklessly disregard the same process that brought him to office as governor, in a desperate move to mislead, and achieve a partisan political advantage.

“To be clear, the purported election results announced by Fintiri is bogus, fake and contrived by devious imagination. We urge members of the Edo electorate and the general public to disregard Fintiri’s unlawful and unauthorized announcement of election results,” Morka stated.

However, Yiaga Africa and the PDP, in the early morning hours of Sunday, raised the alarm over the disruption in the collation process, insisting that the collation of the results from the various LGAs at the state INEC headquarters violated the established procedure for results collation.

Initial preliminary results uploaded on IReV from some polling units showed that the governorship candidate of the PDP, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, and that of the APC, Senator Monday Okpebholo were in a tight race.

But security agents were said to have chased away the observers and the agents of the political parties from the collation centre in Benin City, fuelling the allegation that there were plots to manipulate the results.

However, speaking on ARISE NEWS Channel, the deputy governorship candidate of the PDP, Osarodion Ogie, confirmed that the agents of the PDP were not allowed into the collation centre.

Ogie also disclosed that an Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police stopped the collation at the LGAs and ordered the movement of all the results to the INEC office in Benin-City.

“So, myself and the governorship candidate, we came here earlier in the day to make this complaint to the commission and find out why our collation agents were being prevented from being at collation centres. Some met us at the gate after our explanation. They were allowed in.

“Even when they got in, they told us that even while they were inside, they were not allowed to participate in the collation of results. We didn’t think that was good enough and we thought we should let the whole world know that this is not how elections should go. That is why we are here,” he explained.

In a press conference on Channels Television, Obaseki alongside Ahmadu Fintiri, governor of Adamawa; and Asue Ighodalo, disclosed that it was after he visited the INEC office that the commission postponed collation to 10 am.

Fintiri however denied announcing results, saying figures he reeled out were of some polling units and local governments, received from party agents, insisting he was not usurping the powers of INEC by his action.

“I did not announce results, I only informed the public on the exact figure from our collation agents that was ongoing before INEC disrupted the process… INEC should be accused of violating the Electoral Act, not me,” Fintiri said.

Governor Obaseki was spotted at the INEC office at about 2am and report claimed he was there for almost three hours until some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) protested his presence at the facility, which eventually let to the DIG in charge of Edo state election, Mr Frank Mbah to intervene and walk the governor out of the INEC premises.

But in the briefing, Obaseki claimed his visit enabled INEC release information regarding the results, which the commission refused to as reported by some PDP agents.

“At about 1am, I got a report that collation was supposed to have been moved to the INEC head office. I also got reports from our agents that PDP agents were not allowed into the collation centre,” he said.

“At that point in time, I called the REC to find explanation as to what was going on. There was no response. I went to INEC to meet with the REC to try and understand what steps the INEC was taking to continue the process of collation.

“It was after my meeting with Mr. Frank Mbah that INEC released a statement at about 5am this morning informing the public that collation process will start at 10am.

“My going there was to obtain information from INEC because they had refused to put any information in the public domain as to what was going on.