Seyi Odewale, with agency report
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the March 18 governorship election in Adamawa and Kebbi states inconclusive.

In Adamawa State, the state INEC returning officer, Prof Mohammed Mele, said the election was cancelled in 47 registration areas, and 69 polling Units with a total number of 41,796 registered voters.

“The number of Permanent Voter Cards (VCs) from the affected polling units in the different Local Government Areas (LGAs) affected is 37,016.

“After the collation, we calculated the total number of votes with the two leading candidates with the highest votes, APC with 390,275 and PDP with 421, 524 votes.

“So this gives us the margin of 31,249 and the total number of PVCs collected in the places amounts to 37, 916,” he said.

BREAKING: Fubara is Rivers State governor-elect

 

Similarly, declaring the Kebbi State governorship election inconclusive, INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof Yusuf Sa’idu, said the measures became necessary because there were breaches of electoral laws that led to cancellations of results in polling units within 20 of the 21 LGAs.

He said violence, destruction of election materials, disruption of electoral proceedings, and over-voting, plaid a role in having the election declared inconclusive.

Before declaring the election inconclusive, APC was leading the polls with 388,258 votes, as against 342,980 votes polled by the PDP.

 

*Tension mounts in Enugu, Abia over suspension of collation of results

Meanwhile, there is palpable tension in Enugu and Abia states following the suspension of the collation of governorship poll results.

INEC said a comprehensive review of the process led to the suspension of further collation of results of last Saturday’s governorship elections in Abia and Enugu states indefinitely.

The National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, Festus Okoye, who gave the update yesterday, said the exercise will resume after a review of the process in the two states.

He added that apart from INEC officials being held hostage in Obingwa local government area of Abia State, reports from Enugu called for a review of the exercise.

One of the political parties that participated in the election had threatened to embark on a nationwide strike over alleged cases of compromise by INEC’s ad-hoc staff.

 

The statement read in part, “The Commission met today, Monday 20th March 2023, and reviewed the conduct of the Governorship and State Assembly elections held nationwide on Saturday 18th March 2023.

“Arising from the meeting, the Commission decided to suspend forthwith further collation of the governorship election results in some parts of Abia and Enugu States. It will be recalled that our office in Obingwa Local Government Area was invaded by thugs yesterday Sunday, March 19, 2023, and our officials were held hostage concerning the collation of results from the LGA.

“Similarly, reports from Enugu State call for a review of the results of the Governorship election from the two outstanding Local Government Areas of Nsukka and Nkanu-East.

“Consequently, the Commission hereby suspends the collation of results in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State and the two outstanding Local Government Areas of Enugu State which are yet to be collated.

“A review will be undertaken immediately before the process is concluded. We appeal for the understanding and patience of voters, parties, and candidates in the affected States.”

 

*Fubara, Oborevwori, Zulum, Nwifuru, Kabir, Mutfwang, Otu, Alia, Bago, others join league of governors-elect

Meanwhile, more governors-elect emerged yesterday in different states following INEC’s final declarations.

*Rivers

In Rivers State, the PDP candidate, Siminialayi Fubara, has been declared the winner of the governorship election.

The state Returning Officer, Prof Akpofure Rim-Rukeh, announced the result late yesterday at the end of the two days collation at the INEC head office in Port Harcourt.

The PDP candidate polled 302,614 votes to defeat his closet rival Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who scored 95,274 votes, while the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Senator Magnus Abe, and Labour Party (LP)’s, Beatrice Itubo, came a distant third and fourth with 46,981 and 22,224 votes respectively.

Akpofure Rim-Rukeh who is also the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources said a total of 496,852 were accredited for the March 18 governorship election out of the 3,537,190 registered voters in the State.

He explained that of the 494,604 total votes cast, 483,934 were valid while 10, 670 were rejected votes.

Aside from the PDP, party agents at the State Collation Centre rejected the results, saying the figures were allegedly allocated.

Fubara was anointed by the incumbent Governor Nyesom Wike, who is in the last weeks of his two-term of eight years.

 

*Delta

In Delta State, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sheriff Oborevwori, was declared the winner of the governorship election by INEC.

According to the results announced yesterday by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Monday Udoh-Tom, Oborevwori won 21 out of the 25 local government areas collated in the state to defeat his closest rival, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Ovie Omo-Agege.

Oborevwori polled 360,234 votes, Omo-Agege polled 240,229, while the All Progressives Grand Alliance candidate, Chief Great Ogboru, garnered 11,029 votes.

Out of the 25 local governments in the state, of which PDP’s Oborevwori won 21 of them, APC’s Omo-Agege won the remaining four local government areas.

 

*Borno

In Borno, the candidate of the APC, Prof Babagana Zulum, was declared the winner of the election having polled 545,542 votes.

Governor Zulum defeated his closest contender, Mohammed Jajari of the PDP, who scored 82,147.

The result was announced by INEC Returning Officer, Jude Rabo.

 

*Benue

Also, INEC has declared the governorship candidate of the APC in Benue State, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, as the winner of the poll and the governor-elect.

The Catholic priest won 473,933 votes ahead of his closest rival and PDP candidate, Titus Uba, who scored 223,913.

The Returning Officer, Prof Faruq Kuta, and Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna declared Alia the winner.

Alia, who is a member of the ruling APC, is expected to take over from Governor Samuel Ortom of the PDP G5.

 

*Kano

There was a major upset in Kano between the APC and the NNPP following the political rivalry between Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and his former benefactor, Rabiu Kwankwaso.

INEC declared Yusuf Kabir of NNPP the winner of the keenly contested March 18 poll.

Kabir scored 1,019,602 votes to defeat his closest contender, Nasir Gawuna of the APC who polled 890,705 votes.

“That Yusuf Kabir of NNPP having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” the Returning Officer, Prof Ahmad Ibrahim declared.

For years, Ganduje and Kwankwaso have remained arch-political rivals over the control of Nigeria’s unarguably most populated state with a commensurate number of voters, the highest nationwide.

In the February 25 presidential poll, Kwankwaso won in 38 of the 44 local government areas in Kano with a total of 997,279 votes while APC’s Bola Tinubu won in the remaining six local governments with 517,341 votes.

He, however, came a distant fourth in the poll won by Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State.

Interestingly, Ganduje was Kwankwaso’s deputy when the latter was governor from 2011 May to May 2015 before they fell apart after the 2015 elections which saw the emergence of Ganduje as governor. Before then, Kwankwaso was also Kano’s governor from 1999 to 2003.

Meanwhile, the Kano State Government has imposed a dawn-to-dusk curfew to avoid a breakdown of law and order, following tensions generated from the collation of results of the governorship and state Assembly elections.

 

*Niger

In Niger, INEC declared the candidate of the APC, Umar Mohammed Bago, the winner of the governorship election.

Announcing the result in Minna yesterday, the state collation officer, Prof Clement Allawa, said Bago won in 20 of the 25 Local Government Areas and polled a total of 469,896.

“I, Professor Clement Allawa, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the 2023 governorship election that was contested on March 18, 2023.”

“I declare that Umar Mohammed Bago of the APC having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner of the 2023 governorship election in Niger State.”

He stated that the candidate of the PDP, who was the closest rival, Isah Liman Kantigi, won in five local government areas with 387, 476 votes, while the candidate of the NNPP, Yahaya Mohammed came third with a total of 3, 378 votes.

According to him, the only female candidate in the election Khadijat Abdulahi who contested under the platform of the APGA polled 1, 746 votes.

 

*Kaduna

In Kaduna, the APC candidate, Senator Uba Sani, has been declared the winner of the 2023 governorship.

He was declared the winner by the Returning Officer for Kaduna State and Vice Chancellor of the Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, Prof Lawal Suleiman Bilbis.

Sani polled a total of 730,002 votes to defeat his closest rival, Isa Ashiru of the PDP, who polled 719,196 votes.

The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Jonathan Asake came a distant third after polling 58,283 votes while the NNPP candidate, Suleiman Hunkuyi, scored 21,405 votes.

So far, the results of 20 governorship polls have been announced. The APC takes the lead with 14 states, the PDP with five states, and the NNPP with one state.

 

*Cross River

In Cross River State, INEC declared the APC governorship candidate, Senator Bassey Out, as the winner of the March 18 poll.

Otu, a former Senator, scored 258,619 votes to defeat his closest contender and a serving senator, Dr Sandy Onor, of the PDP, who polled 179,636.

Otu was declared the winner by INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof Teddy Charles of the Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State.

The APC candidate won in 15 local government areas of 18 LGAs declared by the Commission in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

With his declaration as governor-elect by the electoral umpire, Otu will succeed the incumbent governor and APC party man, Ben Ayade whose eight-year two-term will end on May 29, 2023.

 

*Plateau

The Plateau State governorship candidate of the PDP, Caleb Mutfwang, won Saturday’s governorship election held in the state.

The result announced by INEC after counting the votes scored by parties that participated in the election showed that Mutfwang had the highest votes beating the All Progressives Congress candidate, Nentawe Yilwatda.

However, the Returning Officer for the governorship election in the state and Vice-Chancellor of Federal University, Lafia, Prof Idris Amali, declared the PDP candidate winner.

Declaring the PDP candidate, Mutfwang, as the duly elected governor at the INEC collation centre in Jos yesterday, the state Returning Officer said that the PDP candidate polled 525,299 votes to defeat his closest rival and the candidate of the ruling APC, Dr Nentawe Yilwatda, who polled 481,370 votes

“I’m going to declare the results that I have here. There are 18 contestants. That Caleb Manesah Mutfwang of The PDP having satisfied the requirements by the law is hereby returned and declared the winner,” the returning officer said.

Meanwhile, so far, the results of 18 governorship polls have been announced. The APC takes the lead with 12 states, PDP with five states, and NNPP with one state.

Officially, nine of the 11 governors who sought re-election in the March 18 polls held across Nigeria in West Africa have been declared winners by INEC to return to the office for another four-year term each.

They include Zulum as well as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State.

Of the 28 states, 11 serving governors sought re-election while 17 outgoing governors are in the final weeks of their constitutional two-term limits of eight years, having been sworn in on May 29, 2015.