AT exactly 9.28 pm, yesterday, Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was declared the winner of the Edo State 2024 governorship election, sparking celebration in the state.

He polled 291,667 votes to beat his closest marker, Dr Asue Ighodalo, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who scored 247,655 votes. Okpebholo was better with 44,012 votes and emerged victorious in Edo’s keenest governorship poll ever.

Labour Party, LP, Standard bearer, Olumide Akpata, came a distant third with 22,763 votes.
An elated Okpebholo told Edo people that they had elected the best person for the job and should expect the best from him.

His victory came amid complaints from Governor Obaseki, the PDP Campaign Council, PDP governors, and civil society organisations, who picked holes in the hitches that trailed the collation process midway and urged the INEC to address the situation.

Speaking shortly after being declared winner of the election, Senator Okpebholo promised to develop Edo State, adding that Edo was rising.

He said: “Edo people have elected the right person for the job. A new Edo is rising. I am here to develop Edo State, I want to transform Edo the way it should be. I want to tell you that I will start from where Adams Oshiomhole stopped. Edo will receive a new transformation and by the grace of God, Edo will stand firm.”

To emerge victorious, Okpebholo won 11 of the 18 local councils of the state but one of the three senatorial districts. He was dominant in Edo North where Senator Adams Oshiomhole hails from but lost his Edo Central and Edo South narrowly to Ighodalo, who is also from Edo Central.

In Edo North, the APC candidate polled 130,684 votes compared to PDP’s 76,959 votes and LP’s 5,987.
In Edo Central it was APC (48,895); PDP (54,813) and LP (1,546). And in Edo South, it was Okpebholo (112,088 votes); Ighodalo (115,502) and Akpata (15,230).

The 11 LGAs that Okpebholo won including Governor Godwin Obaseki’s Orhionmwon are Etsako West, Etsako East, Akofo Edo, Owan East, Owan West, Etsako Central, Esan West, Esan North-East, Esan central, Egor, and Oredo.
Ighodalo prevailed in seven LGAs, namely Esan North-East, Esan South-East, Igueben, Ovia North-East, Ovia South-West, Uhunwonde and Ikpoba-Okha.

Nigerians are well known for the tradition of giving alms to the needy.

Many people believe that the needy, particularly beggars, are angels sent to test their act of giving.

Others believe that when the barren gives to those with children, she will give birth to children of her own, while most people believe that giving the needy will release God’s blessings upon them.

However, these beliefs are gradually dying.

Many Nigerians are no longer giving alms, due to the declining standard of living.

Economy&Lifestyle discovered that the development has made most roadside beggars, who are known to quit begging by 5 p.m., now extend their routine till late night, to meet their daily targets.

Hauwa Garba, a mother of three who begs for a living, said: “People hardly give us money nowadays. I have been begging since 2018.

“Then people will give N500, N200, clothes, food for myself and children.

“Now, people don’t even look at you or the children. The act of giving has reduced a lot.
“The highest denomination I received today was N100.

“Even the sharing of food packs hardly happens now and when it does the packs contain little quantity unlike before when you have a lot to eat and even waste.

“It is even difficult to see them give basic necessities such as clothes, drugs, tissue paper, pampers and so on as it was a routine then.

“They now give these items to people closer to them.
“I don’t blame them but the poor economy.

“So to meet up with footing my bills, I beg till late night. “This is because I pay for the space I retire to after begging. There are very many of us living there and everyone must pay their share of the rent.”

In Nigeria, there are various grades of beggars and each category sticks to a particular belief of the various cultural backgrounds in the country.

There are beggars with children, there are the old, those who are handicapped and some that you meet on the street seeking financial help or food for survival, there are beggars seeking help to resolve medical issues among others.

On his part, Dogo Kubure, a handicapped in his 40’s, said he started closing by 9 p.m. after heeding the advice of a fellow beggar to extend their begging time to meet up with their target.

“This is a very hard time for beggars like me because those who are physically complete find it hard to provide for their daily life compared to us.

“Before, I went home with at least N1,000 daily apart from the various food items people gave me.
“Now, I hardly go home with N500.

“Today, I made just N200. This is to show you the extent how which the economy has reduced our benefactors.
“I have to stay out late after heeding the advice of my friend who is also a beggar but old.
“People always give the handicapped and old mostly. But now, both categories of beggars are not even pitied by many.

“If I can’t meet up with my needs in the city anymore, I will go back to my village before the year ends.”
Confirming the reduction in giving alms to roadside beggars, Miss Mercy Udechukwu, a skincare seller said she has stopped giving beggars money on the street and decided to give the little she can spare to members of her family that is struggling to survive.

“In a day up to two to three people in my family are seeking financial help.

“Sometimes I promise to give them and I fulfil my promise. “Other times I just tell them I am also struggling.

“Before, in a week I give beggars up to N1,000 when I go out. Some even come in groups to my shop to solicit financial help.

“But now, I don’t give them because I am struggling to survive and the little I can spare I give to my family who are also in need.”

Mr. Matthew Bankole, a surveyor, said: “What I do now is give alms in my church. We have a special donation for the needy.

“Such as widows and those who are struggling to survive in this economy.

“I also support my family members who are also struggling.

“The way the economy is now, people hardly render help anymore.

“Even when you have the money, prefer to give it to immediate family members who are striving to survive.
“People don’t even have pity anymore.

“For instance, Look at those commercial bus drivers before they assist school children to the nearest bus stop of their school but now if a child doesn’t have a complete transport fare they either stay at the bus stop for long hours or trek half the journey.

“It is not as if these drivers are bad but it’s a condition the economy has placed in their lives so they have to kill pity.

“That is what has extended into our tradition of giving. The current economic situation has killed pity.”

Patrick Doyle, the ace Nigerian actor, has criticised the phrase “I am chosen”, commonly chanted by members of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries.

In a recent Facebook post, Doyle described the phrase as “nonsensical” and argued it is not a Christian doctrine.

“The phrase ‘I am a chosen,’ as used by members of the religious sect called ‘Chosen,’ should never be connected to the Body of Christ,” he wrote.

“The members of this sect do not have Jesus in mind when they chant the phrase. Their adoration is unequivocally directed at a man, their GO, and the sect he founded. The phrase does not mention or even imply Jesus in any way.

“To infer that the nonsensical phrase is remotely connected to giving glory to the name or person of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is to make a mockery of our faith.

“Bloggers and content creators using the phrase are not mocking the Church of God but the sect in question and its founder.”

Doyle’s remark comes on the heels of skepticism surrounding testimonies from the church.

Last week, social media users shared old clips of congregants recounting their miraculous experiences.

In one video, an elderly woman claimed four armed robbers attacked her but miraculously gained control of their guns, leading to the arrest of three of the assailants.

Similarly, a man testified that he survived a kidnapping, machete assaults, and gunshots “without sustaining any injuries.”

Another man alleged that a lion rescued him from kidnappers by lifting him into the air and guiding him to safety.

Dee One, the comedian, earlier warned critics not to incur the wrath of Lazarus Muoka, the church’s general overseer.

However, IK Ogbonna, the actor, also called on the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to tackle the issue of “fake miracles” in churches.

CAN recently condemned a viral testimony of a congregant who claimed “an angel” provided answers to her during an examination.

Kemi Lala Akindoju, the actress, also criticised the church’s doctrine

•She was busy with phone when I wrapped two hands on her neck

•I placed her dead body on a chair, took picture, sent to her mother

•I collected N360,000 ransom after killing her

If 23-year-old Ayomide Adeleye, a 300-level philosophy student of Olabisi Onabanjo University, OOU, had known the far-reaching implications of killing a fellow human being, he would have opted to remain poor.

The lanky black complexioned young man who resides with his parents in Ikorodu in Lagos is now cooling his head inside the cell of Lagos state Police Command Tactical Unit, Ikeja.

He bemoaned the fate that befell him, lamenting that after his arrest, he tried to cut his fingers with any sharp object so that he would bleed to death but for the vigilant security agents that stopped him.

His story:

“I was born in Surulere Local Government area in June, 2001. My parents later relocated to Ikorodu where we have our own house. I have three siblings. One of them is late. I am the first son, and my father is a boat driver. Before I was born, he and my mum worked at Eko hotel. So, I think due to their marriage, one of them had to stop working. When he stopped, my mum was still there until 2011. I attend the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

How it happened

“I had not been at home for over six months. The victim, Christiana Idowu, 18, contacted me several times in school where I was studying Philosophy, in 300 level. She had been contacting me that she wanted to repair her phone because I had repaired it for her before.

How did you meet her?

“We were church members. I had known her for three years before the incident. She had been contacting me and I told her I would be at home at the end of the session. When I came back to Lagos, she called and I told her I was at home. She came to our house around 5pm on the day of the incident and asked me to repair her phone. She was an Industrial Training, IT, student in Yaba College of Technology. She came with a bike. She had her bag and other things she used in school. So, when she arrived, I collected the phone from her, looked at it, and I discovered that the phone only had battery problem and the screen was faulty. I just needed to put gum on the screen and change the battery. But she was not ready to change the battery, she just wanted to continue using the phone like that.

Why did you kill her?

“I killed her because I had financial problems. I thought of the problems and decided to strangle her while she was busy going through my phone. I then called her mother claiming that she was kidnapped and she should pay ransom. I didn’t really pounce on her. She was preoccupied with my own phone. Then, it was drizzling, and a little noisy, so, I just grabbed her, applied pressure. She started struggling. She didn’t really shout because I already suppressed her. I then squeezed her throat and she gave up. I placed her body on a seat and took her picture so that I could send it to her mother. I didn’t send it immediately, I just left her at the shop like that. That was around 5:30 pm on Monday night. I left her on the seat and went to plan how to dispose of the body. By 11 p.m. that same night, I started to dig her grave in a small farm behind our compound. Luckily, rain fell that day, so the ground was a little soft. I dug using shovel. I was not able to dig deep that night. So, I postponed the digging. The body was still in the shop. By 4 am the following day, I woke up, I continued digging. Honestly, I did not close my eyes till day break. I was just filled with thoughts about what I did. I then took the body to the shallow grave only to notice that it could not be covered well. I thought of what to do because I was really tired of digging. I had blisters on my hand and the shovel I used had already broken. So, I thought of chopping off her head to make it easy to bury but I did not have the courage to do that. I just had to continue digging even if the shovel broke, I continued to dig until the shallow grave could contain her. I then buried her, covered it with sand. Everything happened before 5 a.m. Then I left the scene to contact her mother and demanded ransom.”

How did you get the mother’s number?

“It was on the daughter’s phone. Luckily, she did not have PIN number or pass code. I recognized her mother’s face on her profile picture. I then called and the first thing I said to her was, “Hello, madam. we have your daughter.” The next thing she said was “who be this?.” Maybe she thought it wasn’t for real. Then I sent a text message telling her same thing. I sent it with the picture where she was sitting on a chair. She asked me, “What do you want?” I told her, “madam, how much do you have?” I spoke to her. I wrote everything in Pidgin. She said, “I don’t have any money. I am a single mother.”

I said, “Madam, just bring anything.” She said she didn’t have, I said; “bring three million to release your daughter.” I know for a fact that she didn’t have three million. Even if she did not have that amount, I was ready to collect any amount because I desperately needed money no matter the amount. After going back and forth with her, she said she was able to get N350, 000.00 and I gave her a sporty bet account to pay the money in order to avoid being traced. That was three days after I buried her daughter. She sent the money there, but, I was unable to withdraw at first because Sporty bet had this rule that once you deposit, you have to play at least a game before you can withdraw. I tried to withdraw but they locked the fund. Then, they asked me to present my NIN for verification. I sent it to them, and they released the money. They didn’t release it until three days later.

“ I then asked the mother again, “madam, how much can you pay again? She said the money in her account wasn’t up to N10, 000.00. I said, just hurry, hurry, put it together and send. “She sent it to her daughter’s account making the whole money N360, 000.00 paid as ransom. After that, I stopped all communication with the mother. But, before they sent the money, they were telling me that they wanted to actually see a video or voice confirmation of the girl but the girl was no more. It was only that picture I took that I was able to send. So, I just kept on pushing them. I used the money to take care of my personal and family financial problems.”

How did the police arrest you?

“It was not police, I was picked up by soldiers. They told me it was through my Sporty bet because I uploaded my NIN so it was traced. If I had not uploaded my NIN, it would just be an empty account. But the moment I uploaded my NIN, all my personal details, my location, my address, my name, everything, was already on the sporty bet. The girl’s phone was also with me, they could have traced the location of the phone, that was how they got my location.”

How do you feel now that you have taken somebody’s life over peanuts?

“Even before I was arrested, Christiana was somebody that I had known for over three years, and we were close friends. I regret that I killed her because my mum and her mum were friends.”

Have you ever had any mental issues that landed you in the hospital?

“I wouldn’t say that it landed me in the hospital, but I am always alone. I don’t like associating with anybody.”

What was the last word she said before you took her life?

“She was focusing on the TikTok video. She did not say anything. In fact, when that incident happened, my cell phone dropped from her hand.”

Now, what do you want to be done to you?

“I don’t deserve any mercy for what I have done. At the same time, I ask God to forgive me. What I did was totally wrong and I regret it. I feel remorseful for what I have done. If there’s any way I could be given a second chance, I want to be given one but I deserve death, honestly. I have been planning to kill myself. While I was in the guard room, I tried to look for any sharp object to cut myself so that I would bleed to death.”