The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday declared Labour Party (LP)’s Alex Otti as the governor-elect in last Saturday’s governorship election held in Abia State.

According to the results declared last night, Otti scored 175,467, to beat the ruling party’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Okey Ahiwe who polled 88,529, while the Young Progressive Party (YPP)’s Enyinnaya Nwafor got 28,972.

The LP candidate also won 10 of the 17 local government areas in the state, PDP got six, while the YPP got one.

The Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state, Prof. Nnenna Nnannaya-Oti, declared Otti the winner at the resumption of the final collation of governorship election results in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, over 48 hours after INEC suspended the exercise in the South-East state.

“That Otti Alex Chioma of the Labour Party having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner of the election,” said Nnannaya-Oti, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.

Otti won on his third attempt. He was the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2015 and 2019 elections.

The last time the LP produced a governor was when Olusegun Mimiko was sworn in as Ondo State governor in February 2009.

Before the announcement, Nnannaya-Oti said she will do the right of the people and protect democratic values.

“I shall stand squarely and unapologetically on these principles. The people’s votes and mandate shall stand.

“The pastor and the mother in me will not permit me to do anything that will adversely affect the future of our children,” said Nnannaya-Oti, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.

As it stands, the results of 25 of the 28 governorship elections have been announced. APC won in 15 states, PDP in eight, and LP in one while the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won Kano.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) won in 15 states, including seven re-elected governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Mai Mala Muni (Yobe), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Babagana Zulum (Borno).

The party also secured wins for eight new candidates: Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Ahmed Aliyu (Sokoto), Dikko Radda (Katsina), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Bassey Otu (Cross River), Mohammed Bago (Niger), Hyacinth Alia (Benue), and Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi).

On the other hand, the PDP secured eight victories including two re-elected governors: Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi).

Six first-term governors were also elected on the platform of the opposition party. They are Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Siminialayi Fubara (Rivers), Kefas Agbu (Taraba), Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), and Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta).

In a historic win, PDP’s Dauda Lawal unseated Zamfara State Governor and APC powerbroker in Zamfara, Bello Matawalle. Similarly, Abba Kabir of the NNPP unseated the APC in Kano State.

•Enugu
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peter Mbah as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in Enugu State.
Mbah polled 160,895 votes slightly above his closest rivals — Chijioke Edeoga of the Labour Party (LP) who scored 157,552 and Uche Nnaji of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who got 14,575 votes, amongst others.
“That Mbah Peter Ndubuisi of Peoples Democratic Party, having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and returned elected,” declared the Returning Officer, Prof Maduebibisi Ofo-Iwe, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike.
Mbah is the anointed candidate of the incumbent governor and PDP G5 member, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi whose two terms of eight years end on May 29, 2023.
Mbah’s victory comes hours after the electoral umpire declared LP’s Alex Otti as the governor-elect in neighboring Abia State.
The final collation of governorship election results on Wednesday evening resumed in Enugu and Abia over 48 hours after INEC suspended the exercise in the South-East states.
As it stands, the results of 26 of the 28 governorship elections have been announced. APC won in 15 states, PDP in nine, and LP in one while the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won Kano. The elections in Kebbi and Adamawa were declared inconclusive.

In all, the ruling APC won in 15 states, including seven re-elected governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Mai Mala Muni (Yobe), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Babagana Zulum (Borno).

The party also secured wins for eight new candidates: Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Ahmed Aliyu (Sokoto), Dikko Radda (Katsina), Uba Sani (Kaduna), Bassey Otu (Cross River), Mohammed Bago (Niger), Hyacinth Alia (Benue), and Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi).

•Ikpeazu congratulates Abia gov-elect

Meanwhile, the Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, has congratulated the winner of the March 18 governorship election in the state, Alex Otti.

The incumbent, in a statement shortly after INEC, declared Otti as the winner of the poll, said the Labour Party candidate fought a long battle over a very long period of time and should be commended for his staying power and resilience.

The governor and chieftain of the PDP also urged all Otti’s opponents including his party’s candidate, Okey Ahiwe not to distract the incoming governor with court cases.

Ikpeazu, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Onyebuchi Ememanka, said the governor-elect must see his victory as a higher call to service to the people of Abia State.

He also saluted the other candidates who took part in the election, especially the PDP candidate for their doggedness. He advised the candidates not to distract the incoming governor with court cases.

“Having myself spent about three and half years in different courts and having experienced first-hand, the distraction such cases can cause a leader, I appeal to every candidate in this election not to distract the incoming administration with court cases, so that they will settle down and deal with the very demanding business of governance,” Ikpeazu was quoted as saying.

“Let us break this negative trend of subjecting our Governors to endless litigations and allow them to concentrate on providing good governance.”
Ikpeazu assured Otti that he would put in place every necessary measure to ensure a seamless transition.

•Abia YPP’s Anyaso congratulates Otti, party defeats APC to come third

The Young Progressive Party (YPP) in Abia state has defeated the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the just-announced results of the keenly contested Abia Governorship election to emerge in third position.

This is as Alex Otti of the Labour Party has been announced as governor of the southeastern commercial heartland.

In its dogged push ahead of the election, the YPP had campaigned vigorously and reached out across the various local governments of the state.

The governorship candidate of the YPP, Enyinnaya Nwafor, and his deputy, Chima Anyaso engaged all key stakeholders in the state to ensure that they were the most preferred candidate and party.

However, due to the strong positioning of the Labour Party driven by the Peter Obi phenomenon and the incumbency of the ruling PDP, the much dogged YPP clinched the third position which many political analysts said was not a loss but an affirmation of the power of the YPP to muster a great accomplishment in the face of very heavy contenders.

The defeat of the APC, the party at the centre, also signals that the party (YPP) has fought a good fight and has won so many hearts in the race for which many Abians believe the YPP has not only actively participated but has a stake in the new emerging leadership in Abia state.

It is worthy of note that Abia state has been under the PDP for 24 years, and the state has faced a worse infrastructure decline in these years. The emergence of new leadership under the Labour Party is set to usher a relief and set the stage for a new trajectory in governance, many believe.

In the announced result, the Labour Party polled 175,467 followed by the PDP which had 88,529 and the YPP with 28,972, and the APC polled 24’091 votes to emerge in fourth position

In his congratulatory message to the governor-elect, the YPP deputy governorship candidate, Chima Anyaso noted that Abia won at last.

He said “I want to congratulate Dr Alex Otti on his victory at the just concluded gubernatorial elections in Abia State.

“This election was a battle between the people and the PDP. With the declaration of Dr Otti as the governor-elect, no genuine opposition candidate would feel the hurt of loss.

“We all won. I am glad that despite their manipulations and evil machinations the will of the people prevailed. Congratulations to Ndi Abia”.