…Scores 307,955 Votes, Beating Rival by 84,333 Votes

…It’s PDP in 13 LGAs, Leaving APC with 5 LGAs

Incumbent Governor and Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Godwin Obaseki, has won the Edo State governorship election held on Saturday, September 19^th, 2020, dusting the Candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Mr Osagie Ize Iyamu to the second place in a massive victory.

Obaseki was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) having won 307,955 votes of the 550,242 total votes cast in yesterday’s governorship ballot as against 223,619 by his main rival, Mr Ize-Iyamu. He was declared winner at about 2:00 p.m. by the Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Akpofure Rem-Rukeh, also vice chancellor, University of Petroleum Resources, Effuru, Delta State.

INEC says Obaseki beat Ize-Iyamu in 13 Local Government Areas, including in the latter’s home local government area, Orhionmwon, leaving his close rival, Ize Iyamu to coast home with victory in 5 LGAs. He not only led Ize Iyamu with 84,333 votes but also won more than 25 per cent in all the 18 LGAs satisfying the condition to be declared the Governor elect.

Massive jubilations greeted the declaration of Obaseki with the people dancing on the streets and alleys of their homes while savouring food and drinks being shared. Many drivers also honked their horns with many shouting “four plus four, ogbane,” meaning that the second term for Governor Obaseki is now assured.

The victory dance by Obaseki’s supporters actually started moments after the results began trickling in by the afternoon. Defying the heavy rain, some supporters at the Emaudo Primary School, Ekpoma, where Obaseki won the three units, rendered “Pepper them, Obaseki pepper them ooo!” as they danced round the field.   

While Obaseki won massively in the 7 LGAs in the Southern Senatorial District and the 5 LGAs in the Central Senatorial District. He also made a very strong showing in the Northern Senatorial District, running almost neck to neck in five LGAs and clinching one. Obaseki has now been endorsed for another four year term to consolidate many of the projects he started in the first term.

The implication of his resounding victory in the governorship election will greatly impact the politics of the heart beat state in considerable ways. Besides achieving the vision of finally retiring former National Chairman of APC, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, who’s the arrowhead of the Ize Iyamu campaign, Obaseki has now consigned many of the erstwhile power wheelers particularly in the APC, who stage managed his disqualification from the governorship race, leading to his eventual exit from the party, to the dustbin. Their foot soldiers also massed in the Edo Progressive Movement (EPM), led by Henry Idahiagbon, a former attorney general and commissioner for Justice, may have to leak their wounds.

Apart from the inability of Oshiomhole to goad his supporters to massively dust Obaseki, it was a close shave even in his Edo north stronghold, with the former Edo State Governor virtually struggling to deliver his polling unit where the APC got 1290 votes and zero score was recorded for PDP, with cries of over voting and doctoring of the outcome renting the air. Oshiomhole’s bedfellow in the support for Ize Iyamu, Mr Hosa Okunbor, a Benin based businessman, also got a bloody nose, losing in his polling unit. Ize Iyamu’s wife was also given the humble pie in her polling unit.

Although the election witnessed massive turnout of voters and was largely peaceful, it was also characterised by incidents of vote buying, ballot box snatching, shooting, interference and disruption of the election process, intimidation and harassment of journalists and observers, in some areas, with the supporters of the two leading parties, PDP and APC fingered as major culprits.

As predicted by Yiaga Africa in their pre-election report, “there were more critical incident reports from Oredo, Orhionwon, Igueben, Egor, Ikpoba-Okha and Esan North-East at the commencement of today’s poll. Some of the verified incident reports include ballot box snatching, sporadic shootings and interference and disruption of the election process, intimidation and harassment of observers/journalists and vote-buying.”

As the first governorship election to be conducted under the Covid-19 protocol, there were leap observance to part of the guidelines by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the electorate. While there were full observance of the wearing of face masks, physical distancing was observed in all voting areas across the state, raising fears about the possibility of a hike in Covid-19 cases after the election.

According to Yiaga Africa, “There was general disregard of the COVID-19 protocol requiring physical distancing and mandatory use of face mask/face covering across polling units. As noted in our pre-election statement, Yiaga Africa is concerned that Edo state may experience a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the aftermath of the election given the non-compliance with health guidelines and the absence of health officials or task force to support INEC in enforcing during the election.”

Breakdown of the results by LGA:

1) Igueben LGA

PDP 7,870

APC 5,199

2) Esan North-East LGA

APC 6,556

PDP 13579

3) Esan Central

APC 6,719

PDP 10,794

4) Ikpoba-Okha

APC 18,218

PDP 41,030

5) Uhunmwonde

APC 5,972

PDP 10,022

6) Egor LGA

APC 10,202

PDP 27,621

7) Owan East

APC 19,295

PDP 14,762

8) Owan West

APC 11,193

PDP 11,485

9) Esan South-East

APC 9,237

PDP 10,565

10) Ovia North East

APC 9,907

PDP 16,987

11) Etsako West LGA

APC 26,140

PDP 17,959

12) Oredo LGA

APC 18,365

PDP 43,498

13) Esan West LGA

APC 7,189

PDP 17,434

14) Akoko Edo LGA

APC – 22,963

PDP – 20,101

15) Etsako East LGA

APC – 17,011

PDP – 10,668

16) Etsako Central LGA

APC 8,359

PDP 7,478

17) Orhiomwon LGA

APC 10,458

PDP 13,445

18) Ovia South-West

APC – 10,636

PDP – 12,659