President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Senator Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Saturday's Edo State governorship election, on his victory at the polls.
Senator Okpebholo was announced the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday, 22 September having defeated major contenders including, Asue Ighodalo of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party.
President Tinubu in a statement by his Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga
on Sunday, commended APC national leaders, Edo State leaders, and party governors for working hard to achieve victory.
He said the victory testified to the people's support for the ruling party, its progressive ideals, its economic reengineering programme and its commitment to improving the lives of Nigerians.
He urged Senator Okpebholo not to gloat over his victory but to see it as a challenging call to service while encouraging him to demonstrate magnanimity by reaching out to his political rivals and uniting the people of Edo State to ensure its development.
President Tinubu also praised other candidates who participated in the election for their contributions to advancing Nigeria's democracy, saying peaceful political contests, such as the one on Saturday, portray Nigeria as a stable democracy.
The President urged all those aggrieved by the election outcome to seek redress through the legal channels.
In addition, the president commended the people of Edo State for their orderly and peaceful conduct during the election, underscoring the maturing of Nigeria's democracy after 25 years.
"I commend the INEC and our security agencies for working round the clock to conduct a successful, peaceful and largely hitch-free exercise.
“INEC has once again demonstrated that it is committed to organising a free and fair election in our country”, President Tinubu says.
After a successful collation of total votes in the 18 Local Government Areas, Okpebholo was declared winner, leading with a reasonable margin.
The Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Faruk Adamu Kuta, who is also the Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Minna, made the announcement at the Collation Centre in Benin City , the State Capital.
According to INEC, the results are from the 18 Local Government Areas of the state
See the Results Below:
APC: 291,667
PDP :247,274
LP :22,763
