The electoral umpire said the APC candidate secured 291,667 votes to defeat PDP’s Asue Ighodalo who got 247,274 votes and LP’s Olumide Akpata who scored 22,763 votes
After months of campaigns and intrigues, voters in Edo State cast their ballots in the governorship election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had cleared 17 parties for the September 21st election as candidates battle to take over the reins of leadership from incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki. His tenure ends in November.
Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Monday Okpebholo and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) are the major contenders for the battle.
The election took place in 4,519 polling units across the 18 local government areas of Edo State.
Thank you for following our coverage of the Edo State Governorship Election.
10:10 pm: President Bola Tinubu hailed Monday Okpebholo on his victory. He urged the APC candidate “not to gloat over his victory but to see it as a challenging call to service”.
09: 50 pm: Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, condemned the outcome of the Edo State governorship election.
09: 40 pm: Governor Godwin Obaseki called for calm. The governor, who said the election was marred with disregard to processes and rule of law, urged aggrieved persons to explore the legal options to express their reactions.
09:27 pm: INEC declared APC’s Monday Okpebholo winner of the poll. The electoral umpire said the APC candidate secured 291,667 votes to defeat Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 247,274 and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) who came a distant third in the race with 22,763 votes.
08:47 pm: A PDP agent, Tony Iyoha, called for the suspension of the entire election in Edo State over alleged irregularities.
08:40 pm: The results for the last local government was announced. At Ikpoba-Okha, the APC scored 16,338 votes, the LP with 4,026 votes and PDP got 26,382 votes.
08: 22 pm: The Chairman of the APC in Edo State, Jeret Tenebe, commended the conduct of INEC in the poll, saying the PDP and others parties not satisfied with the result should go to court.
07:40 pm: PDP Governors’ Forum asked INEC to respect the wish of the people in Edo State. “This becomes more imperative, especially in the face of the threat to democracy by the total state capture inclination of the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress, APC government,” the governors said in a statement.
07:30 pm: The PDP in Edo State asked INEC to review the results of the election before the official declaration of a winner. Edo State Chairman of the PDP, Anthony Aziegbemi, explained that the discrepancies between figures on the EC8 form is not tallying with that on INEC’s iREV platform.
5:15 pm: The collation centre resumes with the APC winning Oredo LGA.
The party scored 30,780 votes while PDP had 24,938. The LP got 5,389.
2:19 pm: Collation Centre Goes On Break, APC Stretches Lead
The collation centre for the election has gone on a break and will resume by 5 pm. This is to allow for the arrival of results in two more local government areas.
Already, results from 16 council areas have been declared at the INEC Collation Centre in Benin City.
Based on the results declared so far, APC’s Monday Okpebholo has extended his lead.
02:15 pm: PDP supporters storm INEC headquarters in Benin City to protest Saturday’s governorship election result currently being collated at the state collation centre.
02:08 pm: For Etsako West, it was the APC taking the lead. APC – 32,107; PDP – 17,483; LP – 2,116.
votes as against APC’s 8,398. LP had 98 votes.
12:34 pm: In Ovia North East LGA, the PDP emerged victorious with 15, 311 votes. APC scored 13, 225. The LP came third having garnered 1,675.
12: 23 pm: For Uhunmwonde LGA, the PDP had 9,339 votes. APC was 8,776 and LP 769.
12:19 pm: Another LGA in the bag for the APC. This time, it is Owan West. It got 12,277; PDP polled 11284 while LP had 201.
12:11 pm: APC takes Esan West LGA. It polled 12,952 votes as against PDP’s 11, 004 while LP scored 342.
12:04 pm: PDP wins Igueben LGA by having 8,470 votes. The APC had 5,907 while LP scored 8,470.
11:40 am: INEC has activated the collation centre in Benin City where results obtained from the 18 local government areas will be announced.
The Returning Officer is Prof. Faruk Adamu Kuta who is the Vice-Chancellor, the Federal University of Technology, Minna.
11:27 am: Edo Poll Might Be ‘Worst’ Election Nigeria’s History,’ Says Ighodalo
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Edo governorship election Asue Ighodalo has alleged irregularities in the exercise, saying it might go down as the “worst election in the history of this country”.
11:11 am: ‘It Is Uncalled For’, INEC Reacts To Obaseki, Ighodalo’s Visit To Collation Centre
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reacted to visits by the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, and some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to its state office and collation centre on Sunday.
10:39 am: INEC said it is ready for the collation of results in the exercise and faulted Obaseki’s visit to the collation centre
10:09 am: In a briefing on Sunday, Obaseki said his visit to the INEC collation centre was to get information about the collation process.
