The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially declared Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the governorship election held on Saturday, September 21, 2024, in Edo State.
Okpebholo, 54, emerged victorious with a total of 291,667 votes, defeating Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who secured 247,274 votes. Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) finished in third place with 22,763 votes. Fourteen other candidates contested the election, but none came close to the three leading contenders.
The announcement was made by INEC’s Returning Officer for the election, Professor Faruk Kuta, at 9:27 p.m. on Sunday at the collation center in Benin City, the state capital. Kuta, who also serves as the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, declared Okpebholo the winner after a series of recesses during the collation process.
Okpebholo secured victories in over 10 out of the 18 local government areas, while the PDP’s Ighodalo managed to win in the remaining local councils by smaller margins. The APC also took control of two out of the three key battleground senatorial districts in the state, further solidifying Okpebholo’s path to victory.
As the results were declared, cheers erupted from APC supporters gathered at the collation center, celebrating their candidate’s triumph in what was a closely contested election in the South-South state.
