Okpebholo Gov Says Edo Will Give Tinubu 2.5 Million Votes But Can It Happen

(Edo Governor Monday Okpebholo. Photo Credit: Sun Nigeria)

Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo says the state will give President Bola Tinubu 2.5 million votes in the 2027 presidential election.

He has said this many times, and he repeated it recently at a youth march in Benin City organised by the City Boy Movement.

He says the government is paying a lot in salaries but projects are still moving, like the flyover in the state.

He credits the president for removing the fuel subsidy, because he says that is where the money for these projects comes from.

He also pointed to more than 108 primary health centres built, over 87 schools renovated, and funding for higher institutions going up from 41 million naira to over 700 million naira.

But the numbers paint a harder picture.

Edo now has 2,865,263 registered voters, up from about 2.5 million in 2023.

To reach 2.5 million votes, almost 87 out of every 100 registered voters would need to pick Tinubu.

In 2023, Tinubu got only 144,471 votes in Edo.

Peter Obi of the Labour Party won the state with 331,163 votes.

That means the APC would need about 17 times more votes than it got last time.

Turnout also matters.

Nationally in 2023, only about 26.7 per cent of registered voters actually came out to vote.

If Edo saw the same turnout, the number would fall far short of 2.5 million.

Political scientist Atah Pine of Benue State University says the governor was probably just talking big to show he will win Edo by a wide margin.

He says no one can predict voter turnout months before the election, and no one can control how people vote.