Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State shouted “APC!” at a rally in Benin City. The crowd did not respond. They stayed silent. Then they made it clear. They were not APC members. The moment was captured on video. It has circulated widely.
Edo State has been competitive ground. The APC won the governorship in 2024. Okpebholo took office after a disputed election. The party controls the state government. But street-level support is different from ballot results. Crowds at rallies are often mobilised by organisers. They are not always party loyalists. When a governor shouts a party slogan and gets silence, it reveals a gap. The crowd was there for the event. They were not there for the party.
The rally was a one-million-man march. It was organised by the City Boy Movement. The group supports President Bola Tinubu. Okpebholo used the platform to pledge votes. He promised 2.5 million votes for Tinubu in Edo State. He said the state would deliver. Then he shouted the party name. The silence followed. He did not address it. He moved on to his speech.
Okpebholo defended Tinubu’s reforms. He praised the fuel subsidy removal. He said former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan were afraid to remove the subsidy. He said they feared losing their positions. He said Tinubu had courage. He said Nigeria would become strong like America and the United Kingdom after Tinubu’s reforms.
The crowd’s silence was not the only issue. The pledge of 2.5 million votes is ambitious. Edo State has about 2.5 million registered voters. Okpebholo is promising every single one. That is not a target. It is a fantasy. Even landslide states do not produce 100% turnout for one party. The pledge reflects the pressure on the APC in the south-south. The region is competitive. The NDC has gained ground. The PDP retains structures. The APC needs every vote it can get.
Winners: The crowd, which refused to pretend. The opposition, which gained a viral clip. Social media, which gained content. Losers: Okpebholo, whose rally flopped. The APC, whose support is questioned. The City Boy Movement, whose event backfired. Tinubu, whose vote target looks unrealistic. Edo voters, who see politics as performance.
Bottom Line: A governor shouted the party name. The crowd stayed silent. They were not there for the APC. They were there for the march. He promised 2.5 million votes for Tinubu. That is every voter in the state. The silence says more than the promise. Edo is not a safe seat. The APC must earn it.