The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has emerged victorious in the Edo State governorship election, securing a closely contested win over his main rivals, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP).
The election results were declared by the Returning Officer, Prof. Faruk Kuta, at the state collation center in Benin City on Sunday. Okpebholo garnered 291,667 votes to defeat Ighodalo, who secured 247,274 votes. Akpata trailed with 22,763 votes, placing him in a distant third position.
Prof. Kuta, the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, announced, “That Okpebholo, having satisfied the requirement of the law, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
The election saw varying levels of support for the candidates across the state’s three major regions: Edo North, Edo South, and Edo Central. As expected, Okpebholo dominated in Edo North, a traditional APC stronghold, while Ighodalo made significant gains in Edo South and Edo Central, where the PDP has historically been more popular. However, the APC candidate’s strength in the north proved decisive.
### Full Results:
**Igueben LGA**
– APC: 5,907
– PDP: 8,470
– LP: 494
**Esan West LGA**
– APC: 12,952
– PDP: 11,004
– LP: 342
**Uhunmwonde LGA**
– APC: 8,776
– PDP: 9,339
– LP: 769
**Owan West LGA**
– APC: 12,277
– PDP: 11,284
– LP: 201
**Ovia North-East LGA**
– APC: 13,225
– PDP: 15,311
– LP: 1,675
**Esan South-East LGA**
– APC: 8,398
– PDP: 14,199
– LP: 98
**Egor LGA**
– APC: 16,760
– PDP: 14,658
– LP: 1,966
**Akoko Edo LGA**
– APC: 34,847
– PDP: 15,865
– LP: 2,239
**Esan Central LGA**
– APC: 10,990
– PDP: 8,618
– LP: 418
**Esan North-East LGA**
– APC: 10,648
– PDP: 12,522
– LP: 194
**Ovia South-West LGA**
– APC: 10,150
– PDP: 10,260
– LP: 849
**Orhionmwon LGA**
– APC: 16,059
– PDP: 14,614
– LP: 556
**Owan East LGA**
– APC: 19,380
– PDP: 14,189
– LP: 446
**Etsako East LGA**
– APC: 20,167
– PDP: 9,683
– LP: 604
**Etsako Central LGA**
– APC: 11,906
– PDP: 8,455
– LP: 381
**Etsako West LGA**
– APC: 32,107
– PDP: 17,483
– LP: 2,116
**Oredo LGA**
– APC: 30,780
– PDP: 24,938
– LP: 5,389
**Ikpoba-Okha LGA**
– APC: 16,338
– PDP: 26,382
– LP: 4,026
The election outcome further cements the APC’s foothold in Edo State politics, despite strong opposition from the PDP.
