President Bola Tinubu, Sunday night, congratulated the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Saturday’s Edo State governorship election, Senator Monday Okpebholo, on his victory at the polls.
After a tension soaked campaign, and hard-fought vote, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Sunday, declared Senator Okpebholohaving scored 291,667 votes to beat the People Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Asuie Ighodalo, and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and Labour Party (LP) candidate, Olumide Akpata to second and third place respectively.
In a press statement he issued after the INEC declaration, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said President Tinubu commended APC national leaders, Edo State leaders, and party governors for working hard to achieve victory.
According to Onanuga, the President said “the victory testified to the people’s support for the ruling party, its progressive ideals, its economic re-engineering programme and its commitment to improving the lives of Nigerians.
“He urges Senator Okpebholo not to gloat over his victory but to see it as a challenging call to service. He encourages him to demonstrate magnanimity by reaching out to his political rivals and uniting the people of Edo State to ensure its development.”
Onanuga also said Tinubu praised other candidates who participated in the election for their contributions to advancing Nigeria’s democracy, saying “peaceful political contests, such as the one 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.
In the same vein, Tinubu also commended the people of Edo State for their orderly and peaceful conduct during the election which, he maintained, underscored the maturing of Nigeria’s democracy after 25 years.
“I commend the INEC and our security agencies for working round the clock to conduct a successful, peaceful and largely hitch-free exercise.
“INEC has once again demonstrated that it is committed to organising a free and fair election in our country”, President Tinubu said.
