INEC declares Obaseki winner of Edo governorship election

obasekiIndependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Mr. Godwin Obaseki as winner of Edo State governorship election.

He polled a total votes of 319,483 to defeat 18 others candidate. Candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu scored 253,173 votes to place second.

Obaseki defeated close opponent, PDP with 66,310 votes.

Meanwhile, the PDP had earlier rejected the results of the Edo governorship election held on Wednesday, ahead of the announcement of the outcome. The party rejected the results in a press conference addressed by its Chairman in the state, Mr. Dan Orbih,on Thursday in Benin.

Both the party and its candidate said they rejected the results because they were “fabricated and a pre-determined” by the INEC and the Edo government.

godwin-obaseki-1The winner of the election, Mr. Godwin Obaseki was born in Benin City, Nigeria to the famous and illustrious Obaseki family.

He had his early education in St. Matthews Anglican Primary School Benin City from where he proceeded to Eghosa Anglican Grammer School, Benin City for his secondary school education. He attended the University of Ibadan where he obtained a BA in Classics.

Mr. Obaseki attended the Columbia University and Pace University in New York and has an MBA in Finance and International Business. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers, Nigeria and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School Chief Executive Program.

Obaseki began his career over 30 years ago and has established track records in Investment Banking, Asset Management, Securities Trading and the Public Sector both internationally and in Nigeria. He started out in 1983 with Capital Trust Brokers Limited Lagos as a stockbroker where he excelled and subsequently worked with International Merchant Bank (an affiliate of First Chicago Bank). In 1988 he joined AVC Funds Limited, Lagos where he served as a Project Manager and led the core team that set up two of the new generation banks which eventually reshaped the face of the banking industry in Nigeria. Between 1993 and 1995 he worked in New York as a principal of Equatorial Finance Co, a Financial Advisory firm with a focus on Africa and providing Structured Trade Finance for African related transactions through credit, financial advisory and risk insurance.

He Founded Afrinvest West Africa Limited (formerly Securities Transactions & Trust Company Limited (SecTrust)) in 1995 as the pioneer Managing Director. The firm has since grown to become a leading Investment Banking and Investment Management firm in Nigeria. In 1995 SecTrust was appointed the correspondent stockbroker for Nigeria by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). In 1996, SecTrust established the first derivative product, the Nigerian International Debt Fund (NIDF) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, which allowed Nigerians invest local savings in US Dollar instrument. This fund has outperformed projections on returns.

Obaseki currently serves as the Chairman of the Edo State Government’s Economic and Strategy Team (EST), a position he has held since March 17, 2009.