Somtochukwu

The Edo State deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, has won his polling unit by 401 votes as against the All Progressives Congress’s 148 votes, in Saturday’s election.

The Peoples Democratic Party’s deputy governorship candidate voted at Ward 11, polling unit 5 of Etsako West LGA.

In an adjoining polling unit of the same ward as his, the PDP also won by 131 to APC’s 65.

Jubilant supporters were seen hailing and singing Mr Shaibu’s praises shortly after the unit’s votes were counted.

Mr Shaibu later returned to the scene, waving at the elated voters as they said, “you are a leader. You are a leader.”

Mr Shaibu had earlier voted a while after some fans of the opposition APC were engaged in a squabble with those loyal to him.

PREMIUM TIMES observed a cluster of the loyalists raising their voices and threatening each other in their local dialect, Etsako, a variant of languages spoken by the Afemai people.

“If you try that thing here, we will kill ourselves,” one of the loyalists was heard saying. By “thing,” he meant trying to woo his party’s potential voters to the other side.

“We must deliver this unit,” this time, one of PDP’s loyalists chipped in.

Speaking to journalists afterwards, Mr Shaibu expressed optimism of winning a re-election and praised the Independent and National Electoral Commission, INEC.

“If what I’m seeing here is what is happening all over the state, it means INEC has fulfilled its promise to deliver a free, credible and safe election,” he told reporters.

“If you look (around), you will see that movement is highly restricted,” he noted, adding that he is assured of victory.

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