Results of last Saturday’s governorship elections in 28 states with some incumbent governors returned for a second tenure of an 8-year term.
Notable among those returned as at the time of this report are Oyo state Governor Seyi Makinde, Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman A. AbdulRazaq, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe state and Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe state.
And in Jigawa state, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) emerged victorious, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) retained its control of Akwa Ibom state, and the APC taking over Sokoto state from the PDP.
Blueprint also gathered that Lagos state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Professor Babagana Zulum of Borno state and Bauchi state Governor Abdulkadir Bala Mohammed were coasting home to victory, while it’s a hot contest in Adamawa and Benue states.
Also, it’s early lead for the APC and PDP in Niger and Kaduna states respectively.
Oyo
Announcing Governor Makinde of the PDP winner in Ibadan Sunday, the state’s INEC Returning Officer, Prof Adebayo Bamire said he polled 563,756 votes.
Banire, who is the Vice Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, said the APC candidate, Senator Teslim Folarin who came second, scored 256,686 votes, while the Accord candidate, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, polled 38,357votes.
To emerge winner, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Dr. Tella Adeniran, said Makinde came top in 31 of the 33 local government areas of the state.
Speaking to journalists after the victory, Governor Makinde dedicated his victory to God and the good people of the state.
The governor said he was overwhelmed by the show of love showered on him by the people of the state, and thanked them for the confidence they reposed in his administration and his ability to lead them.
“Right now, I am just overwhelmed. I want to thank the good people of Oyo State for the confidence they have reposed in this administration and my ability to lead them”, he said.
The governor added: “I also want to say thank you to all my friends and colleagues throughout the country who did one thing or the other for us to support this administration.
“For me, I think the reward for hard work is more work. So, for this second tenure, we will work harder for the people of Oyo State more than we did in the first tenure.
“Like I said on the campaign trail, Omituntun 2.0 is a film that will be a lot better, sweeter and more effective when compared to Omiuntun 1.0.
“So, I want to say thank you to my leaders, elders, our supporters, who have done really well. This victory is dedicated to God and to the good people of Oyo State.”
He further said the incoming administration tagged Omituntun 2.0, is a film that would ill be a lot better, sweeter and more effective when compared to Omituntun 1.0.”
Ogun
Also announcing Governor Abiodun of the APC winner in Abeokuta, the state’s Returning Officer, Prof. Kayode Adebowale said he was declared winner after winning 12 local government areas of the state, while his closest rival, Ladi Adebutu of the PDP won in eight local government areas.
Abiodun defeated Adebutu with a margin of 13,915 votes.
Abiodun polled 276,298 out of the 663,968 total votes cast while Adebutu scored 262,383.
The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Biyi Otegbeye garnered 94,754 votes and the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Olufemi Ajadi, scored 1,394 votes.
Declaring Abiodun the winner, the Returning officer said: “That Abiodun Adedapo Oluwaseun, having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declare the winner and is returned elected.”
But in a petition filed by its agent, Sunkanmi Oyejide during the collation exercise, the PDP called for the cancellation and re-run of polling units where elections were cancelled due to electoral infractions.
The party accused the APC of using thugs to disrupt elections in some polling units in the state, claiming that, the total number of cancelled votes was higher than the lead of margin.
“You will recall that the Commission is aware of the level of thuggery planned and orchestrated by the All Progressive Congress to unleash mayhem in some polling units across the state to destabilise innocent voters from freely exercising their voting rights as a result of planned and well executed action.
“We are aware that the principle of margin of lead as established by the Commission in Section 24(3) is in effect, affected by the inability of the population greater than the reflected lead between the assumed winner of the election and the runner-up. Therefore, a re-run is appropriate to address this injustice.
“We therefore implore the Commission to evoke this principle and declare this election inconclusive”, the petition reads.
Kwara
And from Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, INEC declared incumbent Governor AbdulRazaq of the APC winner after posting a wide margin in all the 16 local government areas of the state with 273, 424 votes to win his second term bid.
He defeated the trio of Shuaib Yaman Abdullahi of the PDP who scored 155, 490 , Hakeem Lawal(son of former Governor Mohammed Lawal)of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who got 18,922 and former Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin, Professor Shuaib Oba AbdulRaheem of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) who scored 4,398.
With this victory, AbdulRazaq, who came into power through the Otoge mantra (meaning Enough is Enough) in 2019, became the first governor from the opposition party to be re-elected for a second term in a state once dominated by the Saraki political dynasty.
Declaring the results, the Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Professor Isaac Itodo, “testified that election was held and that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of the APC having scored the highest votes and satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared winner and returned elected.”
The declaration was greeted by jubilation in major streets of Ilorin, as scores of residents trooped out to the governor’s family house in Idigba to rejoice with him.
Jigawa
In Jigawa state, the incumbent deputy governor, Umar Namadi of the APC emerged victorious beating two other two other candidates namely; Mustapha Sule Lamido of the PDP and Aminu Ibrahim Ringim of the NNPP.
Namadi won in 26 out of the 27 local government areas of the state, while his closest challenger, Mustapha, son of the immediate past governor of the state, Sule Lamido, won in one local government, with Aminu Ringim not winning any local government.
Announcing the result, the Returning Officer, Prof. Muhammad Zaiyan Umar said Namadi polled a total of 618, 449 votes to defeat Lamido who got 368, 726 and Aminu Ringim who polled 37, 256 votes.
Umar, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi state, also said the number of registered voters for the state stood at 2, 351, 298, while accredited voters stood at 1, 073 540.
The number of valid votes cast remained at 1, 032, 567, total votes cast stood at 1, 032, 793 while 20, 226 votes were rejected.
But shortly before the final declaration, the PDP, through its agent, Malam Wada Adamu Abubakar, contested the results from five of the local governments including Birnin Kudu, Dutse Yankwashi Kazaure and Gwaram on the grounds of alleged malpractice.
He had called for the affected councils to be declared inconclusive on the grounds of large scale violence orchestrated to deny his party victory, claiming the areas were PDP’s strongholds.
His submission forced the exercise to go on one hour break to enable them resolve the issue.
But when the collation resumed, the declaration went ahead as planned.
Akwa Ibom
In Akwa ibom state, the PDP confirmed its hold on the state with the party’s candidate, Pastor Umo Eno emerging victorious at the end of the election.
Eno polled a total of 354,548 votes to defeat his closest rival, Sen. Bassey Akpan of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) who polled a total of 136, 262, and the APC candidate, Akan Udofia of the APC coming third with a total of 129,602 votes.
Eno won 29 local government areas while the YPP candidate won his own local government area, Ibiono Ibom and Ikono LGAs.
Gombe
In Gombe, Gombe state, the APC candidate, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya polled a total of 342,821 votes to beat his PDP rival, Muhammad Jibiri Barde who scored 233, 131 at the poll.
Making the declaration, the Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor Federal University of Gashua Professor Maimuna Waziri said the state had 1,575,794 registered voters out of which 618,231 voters were accredited.
She also gave the total votes cast during the poll as 616,745 with 605,355 valid votes while a total of 11,390 votes were rejected.
The APC won the poll with a difference of 74, 493 votes
Yobe
Also, Yobe state Governor Mai-Mala Buni of the APC secured a second term of another four years having scored 317,113 votes to defeat his closest rival and the PDP candidate, Sheriff Abdullahi, who polled 104,259 votes while the NNPP candidate, Garba Umar, came third with 14,246 votes.
Announcing the results in Damaturu, Professor Umaru Pate, the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Kashere, Gombe state, said: “I, Professor Umar Pate hereby certify that Mai Mala Buni, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes, is hereby declared winner of the election.”
Sokoto
Also in Sokoto, Sokoto state capital, Aliyu Ahmed of the APC won the poll with 453,661 votes.
He defeated his closest rival from the PDP, Umar Saidu who scored 404,632 votes.
Lagos
From Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo Olu of the APC was declared winner in 18 out of the 20 local government areas at the end of the poll.
The governor won landslide in the 18 local government areas out of the result of the 19 local government announced so far, while the Labour Party(LP) candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes- Vivour, won in Amuwo Odofin, one local government area, and PDP’s Olajide Adediran emerging third.
The final result could not be announced as the election into Eti Osa local government area held Sunday.
INEC REC in the state, Mr. Segun Agbaje, had Saturday announced the postponement of the exercise in 10 polling units in the Victoria Garden City (VGC) around the Lekki area of the state.
The returning officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, Vice Chancellor Federal University of Technology Akure announced that in Lagos Island LGA, APC polled 37,760 votes, PDP scored 1,783 votes, LP garnered 1, 317 votes while other political parties in the contest polled less than 150 votes each.
Also in Apapa LGA, APC polled 21, 007 votes, LP garnered 4,157 votes, PDP scored 2,489 votes, while other political parties in the contest polled less than 200 votes each.
In Epe LGA, APC polled 29, 614, votes, LP garnered 1,515 votes, PDP scored 3,272 votes, while other political parties in the contest polled l00 and below votes each.
In Agege LGA, APC polled 35, 845 votes, LP garnered 8,486 votes, PDP scored 3,176 votes, while other political parties in the contest polled less than 250 votes each.
In Ajeromi-Ifelodun LGA, APC polled 39,798 votes, LP got 19,821 votes, PDP scored 2,607 votes, while other political parties polled less than 250 votes each.
In Ikeja LGA, APC polled 32,273 votes, LP garnered 15,174 votes, PDP scored 1,616 votes, while other political parties in the contest polled less than 350 votes each.
In Mushin LGA, APC polled 52,249 votes, LP garnered 11, 759 votes, PDP scored 4,006 votes, while other political parties had less than 350 votes each.
In Surulere LGA, APC polled 42,451 votes, LP garnered 28, 069 votes, PDP scored 2,200 votes, while other political parties also had than 400 votes each.
In Ibeju-Lekki LGA, APC polled 19, 369 votes, LP garnered 3,785 votes, PDP scored 3,189 votes, while other political parties scored less than 150 votes each.
In Ifako-Ijaiye LGA, APC polled 38, 682 votes, LP got 13,020 votes, PDP scored 2,262 votes, while other political parties gathered less than 400 votes each.
In Badagry LGA, APC polled 41,482 votes, LP garnered 4,863 votes, PDP scored 5,472 votes, while other political parties in the contest polled less than 220 votes each.
In Lagos Mainland LGA, APC polled 26,021 votes, LP garnered 9,999 votes, PDP scored 2,362 votes, while other political parties in the contest polled less than 300 votes each.
In Alimosho LGA, APC polled 83,631 votes, LP garnered 37, 136 votes, PDP scored 7,872 votes, while other political parties in the contest polled less than 700 votes each.
In Somolu LGA, APC polled 36,783 votes, LP garnered 15,096 votes, PDP scored 3,130 votes, while other political parties in the contest polled less than 400 votes each.
In Ojo LGA, APC polled 30,797 votes, LP garnered 19,027 votes, PDP scored 3889 votes, while other political parties in the contest polled less than 200 votes each.
In Ikorodu LGA, APC polled 64,697 votes, LP garnered 13,207 votes, PDP scored 3,797votes, while other political parties in the contest polled less than 600 votes each.
In Kosofe LGA, APC polled 49,344 votes, LP garnered 26,123 votes, PDP scored 3,537 votes, while other political parties in the contest polled less than 700 votes each.
In Oshodi-Isolo LGA, APC polled 36,792 votes, LP garnered 24,948 votes, PDP scored 2,515 votes, while other political parties in the contest polled less than 300 votes each.
In Amuwo-Odofin LGA, APC polled 17,576 votes, LP garnered 34,860 votes, PDP scored 1,809 votes, while other political parties in the contest polled less than 200 votes each.
Kaduna
Reports from Kaduna state as at the time of going to press Sunday night, indicates that the PDP candidate, Hon Isah Ashiru Kudan, was in the early lead.
INEC, had during the collation exercise, which commenced at about 2:20pm before going on recess to reconvene 8:30pm, declared results received from Kaura, Giwa, Sanga, Kajuru, Makarfi, Ikara, Jaba, Jema’a, Zangon Kataf, Kauru and Soba local government areas.
Ashiru won eight of the 11 local government areas declared by INEC, while the APC gubernatorial candidate, Sen. Uba Sani, won three local government areas of Giwa, Ikara and Kauru.
Ashiru’s PDP was declared winner in Kaura, Sanga, Kajuru, Makarfi, Jaba, Jema’a, Zangon Kataf and Soba local government areas.
Niger
In Niger state, the APC governorship candidate, Umar Mohammed Bago was in the early lead ahead of other contestants in the state.
Bago it was learnt, won 9 out of 11 local governments results collated under the supervision of the state returning officer, Professor Clement Allawa.
In the released results by INEC, the PDP candidate, Alhaji Isa Liman Kantigi won in two local government areas of Edati and Munya.
Bago secured victory in Chanchaga, Bosso, Lapai, Bida, Tafa, Gurara, Paikoro, Suleja and Katcha.
The returning officer said the results from the remaining 14 local governments were still being expected as at the time of this report.
Obi supporters
Meanwhile, the Peter Obi Support Network (POSN) has asked INEC to cancel the results of the Governorship and State Assembly elections held Saturday in Rivers, Lagos and Imo states over alleged widespread irregularities.
