AFTER the declaration of governorship poll results in 23 states, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has won in 15 states, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in eight and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in one.
Labour Party (LP) candidate Dr. Alex Otti is leading in Abia State, polling 172,386 from the results of 16 of the 17 local government areas (LGAs) declared so far by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He is being trailed by Okey Ahiwe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who has garnered 78,248 votes.
But the electoral umpire suspended the collation of results from the remaining local government – Obingwa, following controversy over alleged over-voting.
The APC lost the governorship seats in Plateau (Northcentral) and Kano (Northwest) to the PDP and the NNPP respectively.
But, what the ruling party lost in the two states, it gained in Benue (Northcentral).
The APC also retook Sokoto (Northwest), where its candidate Aliyu Ahmed got 453,661 votes to defeat Umaru Saidu of the PDP.
Saidu trailed the APC candidate by 407, 632 votes.
The states won by the APC are Lagos, Ogun, Kwara, Jigawa, Yobe, Katsina, Gombe, Sokoto, Niger, Nasarawa, Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Cross River and Kaduna.
Those won by the PDP are Oyo, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Delta, Rivers, Zamfara, Taraba and Plateau.
Ten winners were declared on Sunday, but the exercise was put on hold in Adamawa, Kebbi, Abia and Enugu States.
The results declared so far are:
Delta
PDP governorship candidate Sheriff Oborevwori was declared the winner of the Delta State election.
He garnered 360,234 votes to defeat Senator Ovie Omo-Agege of the APC, who polled 240,229.
LP candidate Ken Pela scored 48,047 votes.
The PDP won in 21 of the 25 LGAs; the APC won in four.
But the APC rejected the result announced by Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof Owunari Georgewill.
Registered voters in the state stood at 3,221,697, while accredited voters were 710,829.
Valid votes were 671,738; 15,384 were rejected of the 687,121 cast.
Oborevwori dedicated his victory to God, saying: “He removes kings and raises kings. It is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.”
He added: “It is a remarkable mandate for my party because it affirms that you believe and understand that the right foundations have been laid by the current administration to build a stronger and more prosperous Delta State.”
Governor Godwin Okowa congratulated Oborevwori.
The PDP urged Omo-Agege to congratulate Oborevwori and accept defeat in the spirit of good sportsmanship.
Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, said the electoral process was credible and followed due process.
But, Omo-Agege rejected the result, alleging that the exercise was characterised by vote buying and suppression.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sunny Areh, the Deputy Senate President vowed to challenge the “fraudulent result using all legal means.”
He said: “The declaration was made despite the myriad of infractions and acts of impunity on the part of the PDP in the course of the election. These were brought to the attention of INEC with incontrovertible proof.
“The March 18 election was characterised by massive fraud, unprecedented vote buying and voter suppression perpetrated by the PDP in the course of the election.
“The fraudulent nature of PDP’s so-called victory is just too damning and daring for it to be acceptable in any decent society.
“Most of those infractions are in the public domain and known to INEC officials and the security agencies involved in superintending the election.”
Ebonyi
APC candidate Francis Nwfifuru garnered 199, 131 votes to defeat Ifeanyi Odii of the PDP, who polled 80,191.
APGA candidate, Bernard Odoh, placed third with 52,189 votes.
Nwifuru thanked the Ebonyi people for entrusting him with their mandate.
He promised to consolidate infrastructure, human development and industrialisation of the state from where the administration of Governor Dave Umahi will stop on May 29, 2023.
Nwifuru, who is the current Speaker of the state House of Assembly, described his election as a victory for equity and justice.
Cross River
APC governorship candidate for Cross River State, Bassey Otu, was declared the winner.
He scored 258,617 votes to defeat 10 candidates of opposition political parties in the state.
His closest contender, Sandy Onor of the PDP, scored 179, 636.
Kano
The NNPP’s Abba Kabir Yusuf won the governorship election in Kano State with 1,019,602 votes.
He defeated APC candidate, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, who polled 890,705 votes.
PDP candidate, Sadiq Wali, got 15,957.
The Returning Officer (RO), Prof. Ahmad Doko Ibrahim, said Yusuf met the legal requirements to be declared the winner.
There were 5,921,370 registered voters, of which 2,032,955 voters were accredited, while 2,400,964 votes were cast.
Of the votes cast, 1,977,872 were declared valid, while 27,092 votes were rejected.
The APC in Kano pleaded with its members and supporters to remain calm in the face of provocations.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje imposed a dawn-to-dusk curfew to avoid post-election violence.
Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Malam Muhammad Garba, said: “The curfew is to prevent hoodlums from causing chaos.”
The NNPP said its victory represents the beginning of a new Nigeria which the party stands for.
National Publicity Secretary, Agbo Major, vowed that Yusuf will not disappoint the people.
He said: “The people have spoken loud and clear for change and expressed confidence in our great party to provide strong leadership and dividends of democracy to assuage the pains of poor governance inflicted on them by the outgoing APC government in Kano.”
Kano residents took to the streets to celebrate NNPP’s victory despite the curfew.
Kaduna
Senator Uba Sani of the APC was declared the governor-elect in Kaduna State.
He secured 730,002 votes to trump Mohammed Isa Ashiru Kudan of the PDP, who got 719,196 votes.
LP got 58,283 while the NNPP polled 21,405.
The state collation officer, Prof. Lawal Suleiman Bilbis, said 4,335,208 voters were registered.
Those accredited to vote were 1,581,662; valid votes cast were 1,546,747, while 19,114 were invalid from the 1,565,861 votes cast.
Kudan won in 13 LGAs while Sani won in 10.
Bauchi
Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed won re-election on the PDP platform.
He polled 525,280 votes to defeat the APC candidate Abubakar Sadique, who scored 432,272.
NNPP’s Haliru Jika came third with 60,496.
Mohammed won in 15 of the 20 LGAs, while Sadique won in five.
The RO/Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, Prof Abdulkarim Sabo Mohammed, said registered voters were 2,749,268 and the accredited were 1,058, 381.
The number of total votes cast was 1,049,600, of which 1,034,379 were valid and 15,221 were rejected.
APC rejected the result. Its collation centre agent, Abdulmumini Kundak, refused to sign it, alleging there were irregularities.
Sadique, a retired Air Marshal Baba, said his party agents were prevented from accessing the collation centres, where he alleged that the PDP tampered with the results.
Speaking on a television political programme, the immediate past Chief of Air Staff, urged his supporters to remain calm and not resort to violence.
“We vehemently reject the results announced by INEC. The ruling party unleashed violence on the voters because they know that the PDP has been rejected by the people.
“They did not allow elections to take place in many areas; they opened fire on the electorate to chase them away before they commenced the rigging process. Some of our people are recuperating in the hospital as we speak,” he said.
According to him, he could have defeated the incumbent governor with over 200,000 votes had the result not been tampered with.
Niger
APC governorship candidate in Niger State, Umar Bago, scored 469,896 votes to defeat PDP’s Isah Kantigi, who polled 387,477.
Announcing the results at 2.45 pm, the RO, Prof Clement Allawa, said the LP got 3,415 votes, NNPP scored 3,378 and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) polled 1,746 votes.
The total number of registered voters was 2,698,344, while 899,488 were accredited. At the end of voting, 873,020 were valid while 16,936 were rejected.
Bago urged his opponents to join him in moving the state forward.
He praised Kantigi for showing the spirit of sportsmanship by conceding defeat.
The governor-elect urged his supporters to be humble in victory.
Nasarawa
APC’s Governor Abdulahi Sule of Nasarawa State polled 347,209 votes to defeat his main challenger, David Umbugadu, of the PDP, who garnered 283,160 votes.
Sule, in his acceptance speech, said he has learnt lessons and would be magnanimous in victory.
“I didn’t want my ambition to cost lives,” Sule said.
Benue
Benue governorship candidate, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia of the APC, was declared the winner.
The RO/Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Prof Faruk Kuta, said the cleric polled 473,933 votes to defeat PDP’s Titus Uba, who scored 223,914.
LP’s Hemma Hembe got 41,841 votes.
Alia won in 17 LGAs, PDP won four and LP won one.
Borno
Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum of the APC was re-elected in a landslide.
He polled 545,542 votes to defeat Mohammed Jajari of the PDP, who got 82,147 votes.
Plateau
In Plateau State, PDP candidate Caleb Mutfwang won.
He polled 525,299 votes to defeat APC’s Goshwe Yalwatda, who scored 481,370.
Mutfwang won 10 of the 17 LGAs.
LP candidate, Patrick Dakum, has congratulated the governor-elect.
He prayed that God would give Mutfwang the wisdom to govern the state.
Rivers
Rivers State PDP governorship candidate, Sir Siminialaye Fubara, was declared the governor-elect after polling 302,614 votes.
He defeated APC’s Tonye Cole, who scored 95,274.
Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Senator Magnus Abe, came third with 46,981 votes.
LP’s Beatrice Itubor garnered 22,224 votes.
The RO/Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Delta State, Prof. Akpofurah Rum-Rukeh, who made the final declaration at about 11 pm, said Fubara won in all the 23 LGAs.
There was jubilation in most parts of the state, especially in Opobo, where the governor-elect hails from.
Zamfara
Dr Dauda Lawal-Dare of the PDP was declared the winner of Zamfara governorship election. He polled 377,726 votes from the 14 LGAs.
Lawal defeated Governke Bello Matawalle of the APC who scored 311,976 votes.
Taraba
The PDP maintained its dominance in Taraba as Lt. Col. Agbu Kefas was declared winner of the governorship election.
He polled 257,926 votes to defeat Prof Sani Yahaya of the NNPP came second with 202,277.
Emmanuel Bwacha of the APC came third with a vote of 142,502.
