THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has presented certificate of return to Edo State governor-elect, Monday Okpebholo, of the All Progressive Congress.
The presentation took place at the INEC headquarters in Abuja, on Thursday, September 26, following the commission’s declaration of Okpebholo as the winner of the keenly contested election held over the weekend.
The ICIR reported that 17 political parties competed for votes in the poll, and three candidates – Peoples Democratic Party’s Asue Ighodalo, APC’s Monday Okpebholo, and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) – led the race.
Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes to defeat his closest rival – Ighodalo – who won 247,274 votes.
The LP’s Akpata garnered 22,763 in the election to occupy a distant third position.
The returning officer and vice-chancellor of the Federal University of Minna, Haro Adamu Kuta, while announcing the final results said having met the constitutional requirements for being the winner, Okpebholo was the election winner.
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With the declaration, Okpebholo will succeed the PDP’s Governor Godwin Obaseki, who leaves office on November 12 after serving two terms of four years apiece.
However, his victory was met with widespread criticisms, as some residents of the state thronged the streets against his emergence as the poll winner.
According to reports from the election observers, the election was marred by low voter turnout, manipulation of results, vote buying and logistical inefficiencies.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M