Jubilation as Oshiomhole wins second term

Edo State erupted in wild jubilation on Sunday after Governor Adams Oshiomhole was declared elected for a second term by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
In the state capital, the announcement of Oshiomhole, who ran on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria, as the winner of Saturday’s governorship poll led to wild jubilation.
In the sedate GRA area, gunshots went off in the air, signalling the start of a wild celebration.
At the ACN secretariat on Airport Road, jubilant crowds waving brooms spilled on to the road, causing a gridlock.
The happy crowds sang Oshiomhole’s praises while motorists were waved to a stop as the people sang and danced.
Traffic came to a standstill until about four mobile policemen arrived at the scene to restore order.
Opposite the ACN secretariat was a hotel adorned with Airhavbere’s campaign posters. Two young men detaching themselves from the crowd went over to the wire fence of the hotel and began pulling down the posters.
About 45 minutes later, a detachment of soldiers in three vans arrived at the hotel to prevent possible damage to the property.
It was the same jubilant scene at Ring Road as crowds waving brooms filled the streets, shaking hands with motorists and congratulating each other on ACN’s victory.
Residents, mostly youths in Benin City, Edo State capital, have taken to the streets in jubilation for Youths moved round the city on bikes, cars and trucks and stormed the ACN secretariat along Airport Road.
The train later moved to the Government House, GRA, to pay a solidarity visit to Oshiomhole, who was absent.
Soldiers are patrolling the major streets of Benin, to forestall a breakdown of law and order.


The Results

Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, has been declared winner of last Saturday’s governorship election.
At a crowded session at the Edo State INEC headquarters on Sunday, the Returning Officer, Prof. Osayuki Oshodin, said Oshiomhole scored a total of 477,478 votes (or 73 peercent of the total votes cast) to beat his closest rival, Maj. Gen. Charles Airhiavbere of the Peoples Democratic Party, who scored 144,235 votes (or 22 percent of the total votes cast).
The third position went to the All Nigeria Peopels Party candidate, Mr. Solomon Edebiri, who scored 3,642, while the fourth position went to the Congress for Progressive Change candidate, Roland Izevbuwa. The Social Democratic Mega Party candidate, Mr. Frank Okonga, came fifth with 807 votes, while the the Labour Party candidate scored 604 votes to emerge sixth. The seventh position went to the candidate of the National Conscience Party with 540 votes.
In spite of the reported high turnout of voters on Saturday, only 647,698 votes were cast, representing just about 40 percent of 1,651,099, the total registered voters in Edo State.
Oshiomhole made a clean sweep in all the 18 local government areas of the state.
Reacting, the Agent of the PDP at the declaration, Mtr. Martin Osakue, said he will report back to the leadership of the party in the state.
But on a personal note, he said, “As a patriotic Nigerian, I commend INEC for the process and the security agencies. It is natural and appropriate for me to congratulate the declared winner, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on his victory.”
The agent of the ACN, Chief Osagie Ize-Iyamu, said the governor would personally react to his victory.
The agent of the CPC, Mr.Ikonomwan Francis, said the victory of Oshiomhole was a victory for the progressives.
He said the party had just before the election asked its supporters to vote Oshiomhole because all the progressives needed to come together to fight a common cause. “Our common enemy is poverty among our people. And we need to join hands to fight it,” he said.