By Patience Ndidi Ofure Key
Recent remarks credited to Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, in which he reportedly promised to “deliver 2.5 million votes” from Edo State for the President of Nigeria in the 2027 election, deserve a firm and principled response.
Let me state this clearly: Edo votes are not for sale. Edo votes are not for delivery. Edo people are not political commodities. No governor, no party leader, and no political office holder has the right to speak as though the will of the people has already been bought, packaged, or transferred to anyone.
The people of Edo State are not a fixed deposit in any politician’s vault. They are free citizens. They are fathers and mothers, workers and traders, students and professionals, young people with dreams and elderly citizens with sacrifices behind them. Their votes belong to them, and to them alone.
The natural question therefore is this: where will 2.5 million votes come from? How many votes did Governor Okpebholo himself receive to become governor of Edo State?
What is the highest number of votes ever recorded by any governor in Edo State? These are not questions of sentiment. They are questions of truth, accountability, and democratic respect. Where exactly will 2.5 million votes come from?
In the 2024 Edo governorship election, Governor Okpebholo was declared winner with 291,667 votes.
In the 2020 governorship election, the winning candidate (Godwin Obaseki) polled 307,955 votes.
In the 2016 governorship election, the INEC-declared winner polled 319,483 votes.
These figures matter because they show the reality of recent electoral participation in Edo State. So when anyone promises “2.5 million votes” as if it is a fixed deposit, Edo people are right to ask whether this is political hype—or whether it signals an intention to substitute performance with propaganda.
What the governor should be doing at this critical time is not boasting about 2027. He should be governing. He should be focusing on security, jobs, roads, schools, hospitals, and the daily welfare of Edo people. He should be asking how to justify the confidence of the people, not how to make reckless political promises on their behalf.
Even more dangerous is the growing tendency among some political actors to behave as if Nigeria belongs to a selected few. It does not. Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians. Edo belongs to all Edo people. Any Nigerian has the right to aspire, the right to participate, the right to organize, and the right to run for any office of interest. Democracy does not belong to political gatekeepers.
This alone should remind us that some politicians are becoming too entitled, too territorial, and too comfortable with the language of ownership over people and places they do not own. No one has the right to turn any state into a private political estate. Edo is in God’s hands. No one has any right to play God.
As we approach the 2027 general election, I call on the people of Edo State and Nigerians everywhere to stand up and stand out. This election is more than another contest for office. It is a fight for the future of our people, the future of our land, and the future of our beloved Nigeria.
This is a fight for the soul of our democracy.
A fight for security.
A fight for jobs.
A fight for justice.
A fight for dignity.
A fight for the next generation.
I therefore urge all Nigerians to be courageous and fearless. Speak up for a sustainable future. Refuse intimidation. Refuse manipulation. Refuse political slavery. Refuse to sell your vote.
Refuse to surrender your future to those who remember the people only when elections are approaching.
2027 election is a battle for the soul of our great nation, Nigeria, a battle for a positive transformation of our great people and our communities and we must believe in ourselves, intentionally.
The future of Nigeria will not be built by silence. It will be built by brave citizens who are willing to defend truth, demand accountability, and vote for leaders with vision, competence, compassion, and character.
To the people of Edo State and Nigeria:
Your vote is your voice.
Your vote is your power.
Your vote is your right.
Use it wisely. Use it boldly. Use it for the future of Nigeria.
Governor Okpebholo must focus on serving Edo people. That is the sacred responsibility before him. History will not honor those who merely made noise about votes. History will honor those who governed with humility, served with sincerity, and respected the people.
I therefore call on Governor Okpebholo to:
*Focus on service delivery and governance outcomes that improve lives now;
*Respect the sovereignty of voters—Edo citizens vote as free people, not as a bloc owned by any office-holder;
*Stop vote-banking rhetoric that reduces democracy to a private promise between political elites; and
*Commit publicly to a politics of performance, transparency, and inclusion—not coercion, intimidation, or propaganda.
Edo people deserve leadership that is humble enough to serve and wise enough to know: the power belongs to the people. Votes are earned by trust, not delivered by command.
By Patience Ndidi Ofure Key
Former Presidential Aspirant (2023) | Edo State Governorship Candidate (2024)
