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Data Speak: 12 per cent of 2.2m votes give Okpebholo victory over 4.7m population in Edo
the highest votes of Senator Okpebholo did not represent the public opinion of the State.
In the recently concluded Edo State gubernatorial election that led to the victorious declaration of Senator Monday Okpebholo as the new Governor, it is logically puzzling to think the new Governor was able to get the highest votes to clinch the victory cup.
Election has always been a perfect social and political activity to accentuate public opinions. In the case of the recently concluded Edo State election, the highest votes of Senator Okpebholo did not represent the public opinion of the State.
This objective examination is based on the number of registered voters, voters who collected their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVCs) and the total number of votes.
Multiple statistical documents retrieved from authoritative public organisations have shown that about 1,665,815 people out of 2,249,780 (accredited voters) were disenfranchised in the election, giving only the tiny number of Edo voters to determine the fate of over 4,777,000 people, according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Data from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which is the body that organised, oversaw and conducted the election, shows 2,629,025 registered voters, 2,249,780 accredited voters and 379,245 uncollected ones.
Out of the 2,249,780 accredited, 583,965 were counted as the total votes, of which, only 570,690 were valid. This means that the 583,965 total valid votes is barely 25.95% per cent of the 2,249,780 accredited PVCs.
This statistical analogy leaves the total valid votes (570,690) that already determined the fate of Edo for the next four years as occupying only 25.36 per cent of the total number of PVCs accredited.
Meanwhile, this percentage further takes a downward shrink when subjecting the 291,667 votes that led to the victorious triumph of the new Governor, Senator Okpebholo.
291,667 votes, in this case, represent just 12.96 per cent of the 2,249,780 people who voted for the new Governor. This percentage of the decision-makers is just the minutest part of Edo’s 4,777,000 population.
Based on this, it is dismally glaring that the recently concluded election in Edo State is of the minority and not the majority.
Read Also: #EdoDecides2024: How APC’s Okpebholo Defeats Others with 44,393 Votes