INEC declares APC’s Okpebholo winner of Edo Governorship election {REACTIONS}

By KEMI KASUMU and OUR REPORTERS, Benin

“From the way security agencies got involved in the disruptions of collations, all the intimidations and suppression of voters that followed the election that the Edo State people came out massively to participate in on Saturday, it was clear, not only that the Bola Tinubu Presidency in office now has denied electorate their freedom of choice in matter of their next governor but also, it shows that there was standing and straight presidential order to the security agencies to back all the electoral evils that characterised the process,” Ogbeide said.

Amidst controversies of electoral malpractices, intimidations, voter suppression, disruptions of results collations, alteration of results in collusion with electoral officials and activities involving security agents preventing party agents, journalists and election observers from entering collation centres, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Sunday, declared the Governorship Candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Monday Okpebholo, winner of Edo State Saturday September 21, 2024 election.

The 54-year-old Okpebholo, according to the electoral umpire, secured 291,667 votes to defeat Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was said to have secured 247,274 votes and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) who came a distant third in the race with 22,763 votes.

The DEFENDER reports that 14 other candidates, who also contested for the seat to succeed incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki but failed, got less than the three frontline candidates.

“That Okpebholo Monday of APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” INEC’s Returning Officer for the poll, Prof Faruk Kuta, said at exactly 09:27 pm, to delightful cheers from APC supporters at the collation centre in Benin City, the state capital on Sunday.

Kuta, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, in Niger State, declared the winner of the poll after a series of recesses.

The APC candidate cleared over 10 of the 18 local government areas, leaving the PDP candidate with marginal victory in the other local councils. The APC gained control in two of the three battleground senatorial districts in the state.

See table showing the breakdown of votes by LGAs for the top three candidates:

Okpebholo, the Edo Central Senator, leveraged significant influence in his senatorial district, and joined forces with his colleague in the National Assembly from Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, to defeat Ighodalo, the anointed candidate of the outgoing governor, Godwin Obaseki.

Okpebholo’s victory could also be attributed to his alliance with Dennis Idahosa, his running mate who is a federal lawmaker; and Obaseki’s estranged deputy, Philip Shaibu.

The declaration on Sunday evening brings Okpebholo closer to achieving his goal of becoming Governor of the South South state of Edo and places his party, the APC, on the verge of a return to power at the Dennis Osadebe Government House after four years that Obaseki defected on its mandate to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) due to some political games by Adams Oshiomhole as National Chairman of APC, which he (Obaseki) was able to overcome.

By Obaseki’s defection into PDP due to the the intra-party squabble and fallout with his predecessor, Oshiomhole, after which he was denied the APC for second term in 2020, APC lost out of power as Obaseki, who had joined the PDP, clinched the ticket to defeat APC’s Osagie Ize-Iyamu to seal his second term, which will end on November 12, 2024.

Reactions

Osas Ogbeide, as he was identified, was one of respondents who spoke with Our Reporters on the street of Benin Sunday night, said, “This election is yet another reason for us to miss President Muhammadu Buhari.”

Explaining, he said, “Remember that, in a solo election like this, President Buhari aside telling Nigerians in state of concerned to vote for candidates of their choice across political party would follow that up with security operatives, who had no order to carry out the interest of the President during the election.

“From the way security agencies got involved in the disruptions of collations, all the intimidations and suppression of voters that followed the election that the Edo State people came out massively to participate in on Saturday, it was clear, not only that the Bola Tinubu Presidency in office now has denied electorate their freedom of choice in matter of their next governor but also, it shows that there was standing and straight presidential order to the security agencies to back all the electoral evils that characterised the process,” Ogbeide said.

Asked to respond to Buhari congratulating the victorious candidate in Saturday’s election, he defended the former President.

“Buhari will congratulate anybody that INEC declares. That is taking side with the law. You cannot blame him for congratulating Monday Okpebholo, the APC candidate, because doing so was based on the outcome but he (Buhari and we Nigerians) knows that it would not happen under him.

“If it were under Tinubu presidency Obaseki contested that 2020 election, he would not have won. Don’t forget that Nyesom Wike failed in his effort at that time because Buhari did not allow the militants he had mobilised and the likes of MC Olu Omo deployed from Lagos to Edo as thugs to help Tinubu, then a non-office holder using Oshiomhole at the time, destroy the second term seeking governor, Obaseki. We missed President Muhari, a correct Fulani man in power,” he said.

Obaseki campaigned strongly for Ighodalo, while Oshiomhole was a focal figure for Okpebholo’s campaign, attending rallies and interviews on behalf of the APC candidate.

Okpebholo declared winner amidst protests against fabricated results, PDP warnings

Okpebholo was declared winner of Saturday’s election amid protests by supporters of the PDP who strongly posited that the results were fabricated and did not represent the will of the people.

There were protests in parts of the state capital and outside the INEC collation centre, which was heavily guarded for the collation exercise.

Earlier in the day, Obaseki stormed the collation centre to protest the exclusion of PDP agents from the venue but was escorted out of the premises by armed security agents.

At the collation centre, PDP agent, Tony Iyoha, called for the suspension of the entire election over alleged irregularities.

Similarly, the party’s chairman in the state, Anthony Aziegbemi, explained that the discrepancies between figures on the EC8 form don’t tally with those on INEC’s IReV platform.

The PDP Governors’ Forum also asked the electoral umpire to respect the will of the people of Edo State and let their votes count. The Forum alleged that the exercise was fraught with electoral malpractices.

The PDP governors led to Edo by Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, faulted some of the results announced, saying they don’t tally with those on iReV.

According to INEC, 2,249,780 persons with Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) decided Obaseki’s successor on Saturday, September 21, 2024.

Edo is one of the eight states where governorship elections are held off-season due to litigations and court judgements. Others are Anambra, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Osun and Ondo.

YIAGA Africa, other observers speak

A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR), observed voter inducement at polling units (PUs) in the state.

“Situation Room observers reported widespread instances of blatant vote buying and selling across several polling units, despite the huge presence of security personnel,” the group said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.

The statement was co-signed by Yunusa Z. Ya’u, Mimidoo Achakpa and Franklin Oloniju.

“The price of votes ranged from N5,000 to N10,000 per voter in several locations, including PU08 and 09 Ward 2, Owan-East LGA; PU 02 Ward 2, Etsako-West LGA; and several polling units in Egor, Oredo and Owan-West LGAs.

“In some cases, voters were also induced with food items such as bread,” the group said.

The Situation Room is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) including Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), YIAGA Africa, are TAF Africa.

Others are Emma Ezeazu Centre for Good Governance and Accountability (formerly Alliance for Credible Elections, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Kimpact Development Initiative, Democratic Action Group (DAG), Women’s Rights to Education Programme, Joint National Association of Persons with Disability (JONAPWD), DIG Ebonyi, New Initiative for Social Development (NISD), Life And Peace Development Organization (LAPDO), Rural Youth Initiative, Challenged Parenthood Initiative (CPI), Centre for Health and Development in Africa (CHEDA) and Josemaria Escriva Foundation.