By Joy Odor
The newly elected Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, and his Deputy, Hon. Denise Idahosa on Thursday received a Certificate of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The INEC National Commissioner in charge of Edo State, Professor Rhoda Gumus who presided over the ceremony in Abuja, informed that the peaceful conduct of the election and the smooth transition of leadership were indicative of Nigeria’s growing democratic maturity.
Shortly after receiving the Certificate, Okpebholo expressed gratitude to God, the people of Edo State, and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to him, the victory belongs to the people of Edo and pledged to serve with integrity and focus on development that would benefit everyone.
The newly elected Governor assured voters that his administration would prioritize peace, unity, and progress in the state.
Recall that Senator Okpebholo was declared the winner of the gubernatorial election held on Saturday, September 21, 2024 and secured a total of 291,667 votes, defeating his closest rival, Dr. Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 247,274 votes.
In his contribution the National Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Ganduje affirmed that the governor-elect was an experienced politician and a distinguished Senator has a blueprint for the development of Edo State and assured to see assure
great changes.
“Edo State was an APC state. Later on, the governor was a nomadic politician, cross carpeted to PDP, but today, we fought for it and we have recovered our state for the APC.
“I am so happy because essentially, our governor-elect and experienced politician, a distinguished senator has a blueprint for the development of Edo State and we assure you, you will see great changes” he said.
Also commenting, the former Governor of Edo State, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, said the people of Edo State now have a governor that would respect them and who would not be fighting with the traditional institution over artifacts, or demolishing a hospital only to replace it with a museum.
“For us, it is a new dawn. When a lion moves into your home and starts destroying your things, the power of democracy is that because the process is tenured, when it is time, the ordinary people will now have the potency to make a verdict about the tenure of Governor Obaseki and the verdict is now.
“The important thing that I am happy about is that Edo people now have a new governor who will not disrespect them. We now have a governor who will respect our traditional institutions, the heart of our culture. We now have a governor who will not be fighting about artifacts.
“We now have a governor who will not demolish a hospital amd replace it with a museum. We now have a governor who understands the value of education and will not destroy a library and replace it with a market. For me, this is what excites Edo people” Oshiomhole said.
