The United States on Tuesday praised the peaceful conduct of the September 21 governorship election in Edo State.
In a statement, U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Richard Mills commended the people of Edo State for their orderly behavior during the election. He also called for calm following the announcement of the results, which saw Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, emerge as the winner.
“The U.S. Mission in Nigeria commends the people of Edo State for the largely peaceful conduct of the September 21 gubernatorial election and urges calm following the announcement of the results,” the statement read.
Ambassador Mills also lauded Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki for his appeal for peace and encouraged all stakeholders to follow legal procedures for addressing any election disputes.
“We applaud Governor Obaseki’s call for peace and urge all stakeholders, including INEC, to uphold established electoral processes and respect legal avenues for contesting the results. Transparency and due process are essential for maintaining public trust in any democratic system,” Mills stated.
He reiterated the U.S.’s commitment to supporting free, fair, transparent, and credible elections in Nigeria.
On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, defeating his closest rival, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who received 247,274 votes. Labour Party candidate Olumide Akpata finished third with 22,763 votes.