Nigeria’s ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), has won its first major election since Bola Tinubu became president last year, despite the poor state of the country’s economy.
In the southern state of Edo, previously held by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Monday Okpebholo defeated Asue Ighodalo of the PDP.
He received 291,667 votes, compared to 247,274 for Ighodalo.
However, the PDP has complained of fraud and has vowed to challenge the result in court.
“Looking at the way these elections are going, these are probably going to be the worst elections in the history of this country,” said PDP candidate Ighodalo.
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), which monitored the elections, accused both the PDP and the APC of vote buying and also said election officials had been intimidated in some areas.
Although the PDP was in power in Edo before, the state has been in the hands of the APC for years. The PDP’s victory is therefore not necessarily a big surprise.
But given Nigeria’s economic situation, some analysts thought the APC could lose.
The country is facing its worst economic crisis in a generation, with annual inflation at 34% – the highest level in nearly three decades.
Food prices have risen even faster. In the region’s commercial heart, Lagos, for example, yams, a staple food, are almost four times more expensive than a year ago.
Last month, major protests took place across the country over the economic situation.
Political analyst Muzammil Yakasai told the BBC that election violence was deterring some people from voting.
“I don’t think the election itself is a reflection of how people in Edo State and Nigeria see the APC at the moment.”
A fresh test for the APC awaits in fresh gubernatorial elections in the southwestern state of Ondo in November.
Who is Monday Okpebholo?
Before his last victory, he represented Edo Central as a senator at the National Assembly in the elections he won last year.
Born in 1970, Okpebholo holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Abuja and a Masters degree in Policy and Leadership Studies from the same institution.
The 54-year-old man is married with two children. Earlier this year, he was charged with falsifying the date on his birth certificate.
He has not yet commented on the case, which is still in court. Now that he is governor, however, he has immunity from prosecution.
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