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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Senator Monday Okpebholo, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the hotly-contested Edo governorship election.
Okpebholo secured a total of 291,667 votes to defeat his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Asue Ighodalo, who got 247,274 votes and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) came a distant third in the race with 22,761 votes.
The INEC's Returning Officer for the poll, Prof Faruk Kuta, made the announcement at exactly 09:27 pm on Sunday, September 22, 2024.
“That Okpebholo Monday of APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Kuta said to the ecstatic cheers of APC supporters at the collation centre in Benin City, the state capital on Sunday.
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The moment arrived after a series of recesses by INEC after the commencement of the collation of results earlier in the day.
Okpebholo won over 10 of the 18 local government areas of the state, leaving his PDP challenger with marginal victory in other local councils.
The APC dominated votes in two of the three battleground senatorial districts of the state, including Edo North where a former Governor and Senator, Adams Oshiomhole and embattled Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu hail from.
The governor-elect rode his advantage as a sitting Senator and joined forces with his Oshiomhole to defeat Ighodalo, the anointed candidate of the outgoing Governor, Godwin Obaseki.