Independent National Electoral Commission, InEC has failed to announce the total numbers of accredited voters and the total numbers of invalid and cancelled votes in the Saturday 21, 2024 Edo State Governorship election as the Commission declared the candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC Monday Okpebholo as the winner of the governorship poll with 44,393 votes ahead of his close contestant, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

A careful analysis of some evidences and reports of Media Houses who had their reporters stationed at the final results collation centre in Benin City showed that the InEC returning officer, Professor Faruk Adamu Kuta, Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, officially failed to announce the total numbers of the registered voters that were accredited for the election and the total invalid and cancelled votes casted during the election before declaring  Okpebholo winner.

There are concerns that the total numbers of accredited voters to the margin difference of winning may help the court to declare an election inconclusive if  any of the aggrieved parties in the election is able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that there were deliberate cases of disenfranchisement and other electoral irregularities.

According to InEC, Okpebholo, aged 54, secured 291,667 votes to defeat Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 247,274 votes and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) who came a distant third in the race with 22,763 votes. Fourteen other candidates contested the seat but got less than three frontline candidates.

“That Okpebholo Monday of APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” InEC’s Returning Officer for the guber poll, Professor Faruk Adamu Kuta, said at exactly 09:27 pm, to delightful cheers from APC supporters at the collation centre in Benin City, the state capital on Sunday, according to Channels Television.

Adding, “Kuta, the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, in Niger State, declared the winner of the poll after a series of recesses.

The APC candidate cleared over 10 of the 18 local government areas, leaving the PDP candidate with marginal victory in the other local councils. The APC gained control in two of the three battleground senatorial districts in the state”.

We had reported that the last Saturday Edo State Gubernatorial election appeared to be a very big interest for the incumbent Governor of the State, Godwin Obaseki and the former governors of Edo and Rivers States who are currently the incumbent Senator representing Edo North and FCT Minister, Adams Oshiomhole and Nyesom Wike respectively.

Nyesom Wike had said he feel betrayed after he helped Governor Godwin Obaseki to secure power for his current second tenure in office through the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP when the then All Progressives Congress, APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole disqualified him from contesting the governorship seat on the platform of his then political party, APC in 2020.

Adams Oshiomhole had in several occasions also described Governor Obaseki as a betrayal, saying he regretted choosing him as successor in 2016.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had in 2020 called on Edo People to vote Governor Obaseki out of office and he shouldn’t be given second term to rule the people but many people in the state then picked offence on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu statements who was only then APC National Chieftain.

The 2023 Presidential election that got President Bola Ahmed Tinubu into power as Nigeria President has been an issue of concern to many.

Scores of people believed that the 2023 election was filled with irregularities, violence, disenfranchisement of eligible voters, manipulation of election results among other insinuations or allegations but the Nigeria Supreme Court of Justice ruled that the political parties and candidates who contested the 2023 presidential election outcome in court were not able to prove their case of wide spread margins of irregularities, manipulation of election results, violence, disenfranchisement even though the apex court noted that there were isolated cases of the allegations which were not enough to rule otherwise against Bola Ahmed Tinubu who was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, InEC.

Governor Obaseki had refused to sign the traditional routine Peace Accord Agreement on the ground that those who ought to be the promoters of peace are already causing violence ahead the gubernatorial election by thus intimidating, harassing and arresting members of his political party, PDP, to weaken the chances of PDP winning the areas where the arrested and detained party chieftains hail from, saying, the authorities at the Federal Government are doing so for APC to win the the governorship by all means.

The tension in the state made the Benin Monarch, Omo N’oba N’edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare, the second, to order Bisusu sacrificial ceremony to alert the gods or deities in Benin Kingdom to avert any act of calamity before, during and after the governorship election.