INEC Declares Monday Okpebholo Winner Of 2024 Edo Guber Election As ‘Ofonee’ Enters Nigerian Political Lexicon

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Senator Monday Okpebholo as Governor-elect of Edo State on Sunday.

He was declared by the electoral umpire as winner of the gubernatorial election that was held on Saturday, September 21, 2024.

While announcing the election results, INEC noted that 54-year-old Monday Okpebholo, who was the APC guber candidate, got 291,667 votes,  Asue Ighodalo of the PDP had 247,274 votes while Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) got  22,763 votes.

‘That Okpebholo Monday of the APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and he is returned elected’  The Returning Officer, Professor  Faruk Kuta,  submitted while announcing the election results in Benin City, the state capital on Sunday.

Team@orientactualmags.com learned that Kuta, who is the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, did this at exactly 09:27 pm.

Okpebholo, who currently represents Edo Central in the senate, won in 10 out of the 18 local governments in the state and it was a development that has made APC return as the ruling party in the state after being an opposition party for 4 years.

In the meanwhile, a new word ‘ofonee’ has entered Nigerian political lexicon and the ‘creator’ is Mr Philip Shaibu, the Deputy Governor of Edo State.

 Just like ‘o lule’, ‘emi lokan’ and others found their way into the nation’s political lexicon, ‘ofonee’ is also currently trending online.

‘Ofonee’   means ‘ It is finished’ in Benin language and Mr. Philip Shaibu said this in a video that went viral on Saturday night while he also made some dance moves, and this is understandable.

Mr Philip Shaibu  was impeached by  the Edo state House of Assembly on April 8, 2024, but later got  reinstated via a court ruling.

It had become known to all that the relationship between Governor Godwin Obaseki and the Deputy Governor, Mr. Philip Shaibu had gotten strained as the rift between them had come into the open through the dramatic scenes that got enacted in succession last year.

The dramas had begun with Mr. Philip Shaibu getting a frosty reception when he made an attempt to exchange greetings with Governor Godwin Obaseki at an event held to mark the 32nd anniversary of the creation of the state at the Festival Hall, Government House, Benin city last year. 

In viral photos, Obaseki was seen sitting with his wife, Betsy Obaseki while a security agent standing in front of him prevented Shuaib from going near the governor.

Shaibu had planned to succeed Obaseki but the governor did not welcome the idea of having him as his successor, but it is now ‘ofonee’.

The relationship between  Obaseki and Philip  had become frosty since the beginning of 2023 ,and  the strained relationship was never straightened .

Governor Godwin Obaseki had begun to deepen rift with Mr. Philip Shaibu last year by directing that his press corps should be disbanded while requests for media coverage of his activities should be done through the Ministry of Communication and Orientation. He had also made him stay away from the Government House, Benin city sequel to the relocation of his office.

The new office  located at No 7 Dennis Osadebey Avenue,   had served as office of the Edo state Public Procurement Office which was inaugurated by former governor Adams Oshiomhole, on December 16, 2014.

Obaseki and Shuaib were political godsons of Senator Adams Oshiomole but they parted ways with him ahead of the September 19, 2020, gubernatorial election.

Oshiomole, who was then the APC National Chairman, had ensured that the governor was disqualified and stopped from getting renominated while Osagie Ize-Iyamu got the mandate to run on the party’s ticket.

Obaseki left the APC for PDP in June 2020 and Philip, who is Oshiomole’s kinsman, had also followed suit.

Shaibu returned to the APC a few days ago.

President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Senator Monday Okpebholo on his election victory while commending APC national leaders, Edo State leaders, and party governors for working hard to achieve victory for the party.

The President, in a statement that was issued in Abuja on Sunday evening by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga said the election 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 however urged Senator Okpebholo not to gloat over his victory but to rather see it as a challenging call to service while emphasizing the need for 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 held 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 while commending the people of Edo State for their orderly and peaceful conduct during the guber election.

Governor Godwin Obaseki has however reacted to the announcement of Senator Monday Okpebholo as winner of Saturday’s gubernatorial election by INEC calling this ‘a tragedy’ and ‘a travesty of democracy’.

‘In the last few months, the various political parties have embarked on very rigorous campaigns to sell their respective candidates for the office of governor to the people of Edo State in an exercise which came to a climax yesterday with the gubernatorial election.

The attractive thing about democracy is the power it bestows on the people to choose who governs them. Therefore, when this power is blatantly seized from the people, it is not just a tragedy, but a travesty of democracy.

Regrettably, the outcome of the September 21st governorship election appears to have daunted the spirit of many Edo people who feel powerless in the face of the brute force of the institutions that are supposed to protect them. It is therefore understandable that many people feel sad and aggrieved.

But in the midst of this despair, I am urging all my fellow Edo citizens to maintain calm and not resort to violence and destruction of property in spite of this provocation.

Peace and justice will always win at the end and this is my prescription to all the good people of Edo State who feel vexed and violated at this time.

Clearly, it is obvious to the least discerning, the amount of impunity and reckless disregard for processes and law that was displayed in this gubernatorial election

In a democracy, there are safeguards for addressing grievances, and we hope that those affected will seek resolution for this blatant disregard of law and process.

With this in mind, I implore all Edo people to go about their lawful businesses and rest assured of the commitment of our government to your wellbeing and security’ he submitted on Sunday night- Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you