The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has emerged as the winner of the recently concluded Edo State governorship election. Okpebholo secured victory over his main rivals, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP), in a keenly contested race.
The official declaration was made by the Returning Officer, Prof. Faruk Kuta, at the collation center in Benin City, the state capital, on Sunday. Prof. Kuta, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, announced that Okpebholo garnered a total of 291,667 votes, outpacing his closest competitor, Ighodalo, who received 247,274 votes. Akpata of the Labour Party trailed significantly, finishing in third place with 22,763 votes.
In his announcement, Prof. Kuta stated, “That Okpebholo, having satisfied the requirement of the law, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Edo State is divided into three senatorial districts: Edo North, Edo South, and Edo Central, with a total of 18 Local Government Areas. Historically, Edo North has been a stronghold for the APC, while the PDP has shown dominance in both Edo Central and Edo South. The results reaffirmed these traditional voting patterns, with Okpebholo securing substantial support from Edo North to claim victory.
