While speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Edo North Senator Adams Oshiomhole attributed Governor-elect Monday Okpebholo’s victory in the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election to Okpebholo’s strategic decision to maintain media silence.
Oshiomhole stressed that television appearances are not the primary mode of crucial communication during election campaigns.
Oshiomhole stated, “Monday communicated with the Edo electorate, and the people voted.”
He rejected the idea that Okpebholo’s absence from the media was a drawback, stating, “It’s not a matter of preventing him from giving interviews; we lack the authority to enforce such a restriction.”
Oshiomhole elaborated that the significance of television debates and interviews is frequently overstated, expressing that, “Many TV hosts assume anyone who doesn’t appear before them is missing out, but radio has a wider reach than television.”
Asue Ighodalo from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Olumide Akpata from the Labour Party, Okpebholo’s rivals, maintained a more visible presence in the media.
Nonetheless, Oshiomhole argued that the direct interaction of the APC candidate with voters proved to be more impactful.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Okpebholo as the victor, garnering 291,667 votes, surpassing Ighodalo’s 247,274 votes.
Okpebholo’s win signifies a transformation in Edo’s political landscape as the APC edges closer to reclaiming governance in the state, post the 2020 defeat under Governor Godwin Obaseki, who switched allegiance to the PDP.
