WHY OKPEBHOLO KNOWS WHAT HE IS SAYING ABOUT TINUBU’S 2.5 MILLION VOTES

WHY OKPEBHOLO KNOWS WHAT HE IS SAYING ABOUT TINUBU’S 2.5 MILLION VOTES

Governor Monday Okpebholo’s pledge to deliver 2.5 million votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not be dismissed as ordinary campaign rhetoric. He understands that elections are won through performance, political structure and grassroots mobilisation.

The political landscape of Edo has changed considerably since 2023. Today, the APC controls the state government, commands an expanding political coalition and possesses structures extending across the 18 local government areas, 192 wards and thousands of communities.

But Okpebholo is not relying on party machinery alone.

His administration is constructing roads and flyovers, absorbing thousands of teachers, strengthening security, reviving neglected hospitals, expanding agricultural investment and restoring public transportation. These interventions are creating beneficiaries—and beneficiaries can become campaign ambassadors.

President Tinubu’s influence is also visible in Edo through federal appointments, infrastructure interventions and the improved financial capacity available to state and local governments under the Renewed Hope reforms.

Admittedly, 2.5 million votes is an extremely ambitious target requiring massive voter registration and unprecedented turnout. But Okpebholo is speaking as a governor who understands the political direction of the state and the organisational work required to expand Tinubu’s support dramatically.

The number is not merely a prediction.

It is a declaration of mobilisation.

Okpebholo knows that if performance continues, the APC remains united and every supporter is registered and brought to the polling unit, Edo can produce a presidential result significantly different from 2023.

That is why his 2.5 million-vote declaration should be understood not as empty boasting—but as a campaign target backed by structure, expanding support and visible performance.

Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah is the Principal and CEO of Bush Radio Academy