- Farouk Adamu, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returning officer for the election, had declared Monday Okpebholo, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as winner of the vote.
- Okpebholo garnered 291,667 votes to defeat his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 247,655 votes.
The Labour Party representatives in the House of Assembly have dismissed the results of the Edo state governorship election.
At a press conference held on Wednesday at the National Assembly, they claimed that the election, which took place on Saturday, was neither free nor fair.
The LP reps maintained that their candidate, Olumide Akpata, was unfairly denied victory.
George Ozodinobi, Deputy Minority Whip of the House, condemned the election results, describing them as “the highest theft of the season”.
He added that “the electorate were clearly robbed of their votes, and their will and wishes dashed”.
Ozodinobi expressed disappointment that despite the Labour Party’s vigorous campaigns, led by their 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, their candidate received an unexpectedly low number of votes.
“It is on record that our leader and presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, His Excellency Peter Obi, campaigned vigorously for our gubernatorial candidate in every nook and cranny of the state,” Ozodinobi said.
“Of course, the whole world witnessed the massive crowds that the Obidient movement pulled wherever he went during the campaign.
“Yet, Chief Akpata was allocated paltry votes in a state where, just about a year and seven months ago, the Labour Party had one Senator and two House of Reps members,” he said.
When asked about potential legal action, Ozodinobi indicated that the party is currently engaged in consultations to determine the best course of action.
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