By Abiola Olawale
Monday Okpebholo has officially taken the oath of office, becoming the newly sworn in governor of Edo State.
The swearing-in ceremony took place on Tuesday afternoon at the popular Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in the vibrant heart of Benin City, Edo State.
This momentous event drew a diverse array of distinguished personalities and enthusiastic residents, all eager to witness the significant transition in the political landscape of the state.
The stadium buzzed with activities, anticipation, filled with colourful decorations and visible ray of hope and expectations as residents came together to celebrate with the new governor of Edo State.
Okphebholo’s emergence came after his victory in the September 21, 2024 governorship election in the state, having defeated his closest rival and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Asue Ighodalo.
Okpebholo becomes the fifth governor of the state since the Fourth Republic commenced in 1999. Dennis Idohosa was also sworn in as the Deputy Governor of Edo State.
Present at the inauguration was Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Also, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and the Ogun state governor, Dapo Abiodun were among political leaders present to witness the swearing-in of Okpebholo.
The New Diplomat reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Okpebholo the winner of the Saturday, September 21 governorship election of Edo State.
According to official results, Okpebholo, the then governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), polled a total of 291,667 votes to beat his closest contender, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 247,274 votes.
Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) came a distant third in the race with 22,763 votes. Fourteen other candidates contested the seat but got less than the three frontline candidates.
The APC candidate won a total of 11 local governments against the PDP, which won 7 local governments.
