On September 21, 2024, as the eyes of the nation turned to Edo State for one of the most fiercely contested off-cycle elections in Nigeria’s recent history, the battle for information was just as intense as the battle for the ballot. In the midst of the noise, Naijaonpoint Media emerged as a critical anchor, playing a definitive role in how the world witnessed the election that produced Senator Monday Okpebholo as the Governor-elect.
From the polling units in Akoko-Edo to the collation centers in Benin City, here is how Naijaonpoint Media served as the “Digital Eye” of the election.
While traditional broadcast stations awaited official collation at the state headquarters, Naijaonpoint Media leveraged its network of citizen journalists and correspondents across the 18 Local Government Areas. The platform provided a steady stream of Polling Unit (PU) results as they were pasted at locations like Oredo and Egor.
This granular level of reporting kept the electorate calm and informed, offering early insights into the strong leads established by the APC in Edo North and the competitive margins in Edo South, long before the final declaration by INEC.
The 2024 election was characterized by a surge in digital misinformation, with fabricated results and false reports of violence circulating on social media.1 Naijaonpoint Media played a vital role as a verification hub.
When rumors of cancelled votes in Ovia North East began to spread panic, the platform’s rapid fact-checking team provided clarity, distinguishing between isolated BVAS malfunctions and actual cancellations. By anchoring their reports on verified INEC data, they prevented the spread of hysteria that could have led to unrest.
Throughout the campaign season and on Election Day, Naijaonpoint Media maintained a balanced spotlight on the three major contenders:
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Monday Okpebholo (APC): They extensively covered his strong grassroots mobilization in Edo Central, which eventually became the decisive factor in his victory.
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Asue Ighodalo (PDP): The platform provided deep-dive analysis into his policy proposals and the challenges of his “technocrat” branding against the opposition’s political machinery.
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Olumide Akpata (LP): They tracked the “Obidient” movement’s impact in the state, offering realistic projections of the Labour Party’s influence in urban centers.
Following INEC’s declaration of Monday Okpebholo as the winner with 291,667 votes (defeating PDP’s 247,274), Naijaonpoint Media shifted gears from reporting to analysis.2 Their post-election editorials broke down exactly how the APC reclaimed the state, citing the strategic flipping of Edo North and the split votes in Benin City.
Furthermore, they have continued to serve as a platform for the opposition’s legal challenges, ensuring that the tribunal process remains transparent to the public.
The 2024 Edo State Gubernatorial election proved that in the digital age, the power of the press lies in speed, accuracy, and accessibility. Naijaonpoint Media did not just report the election; they curated the narrative for millions of Nigerians, proving once again that they are the heartbeat of digital journalism in the South-South.
