The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Sunday, declared governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State; Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State winners of the governorship election held on Saturday, March 18, in their respective states as Pastor Eno Umo emerges in Akwa Ibom.
The Returning Officer for Lagos, Adenike Oladiji, who announced the results of the election, said Sanwo-Olu polled 762, 134 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party, who garnered 312, 329 votes.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, scored 62,449 votes to finish in third position.
16 political parties took part in the election held in the State on Saturday.
In Ogun, Prince Abiodun scored 276,298 to defeat his closest rival, Mr. Ladi Adebutu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 262,383 votes. Makinde polled 563,756 votes to defeat his closest rival, Folarin of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who scored 256,685 votes.
In Kwara, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of the APC was declared winner of Saturday, March 18, 2023 governorship election, having won in all the 16 local governments areas of the state in the election results declared by INEC Returning officer, Professor Isaac Itodo.
In Akwa Ibom, Umo Bassey Eno of the PDP, won the governorship race with 354, 357 over his closest rivals, Senator Bassey Akpan of Young Peoples’ Party (YPP), who polled 135, 724 votes and Akanimo Udofia of the APC, who scored 129,604.having satisfied the requirements of the law. The Governor-Elect of Akwa Ibom State garnered the highest votes cast and won in 30 out of 31 local governments in the state.
Also on Sunday, INEC declared the incumbent Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, as the winner of the March 18th governorship election in the State.
Announcing the result at the INEC headquarters in Damaturu, the State Returning Officer, Prof Umar Pate, said Mai Buni of the All Progressives Congress (APC) scored 317,113 to defeat his closest rival, Sheriff Abdullahi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 104,259.
While accredited voters were 459,492, valid votes cast and total votes cast were 444,567 and 457,781 respectively.
Buni, a former caretaker chairman of the APC, is returning as the Governor of the North-East State for the second time under the APC.
INEC also declared APC’s Inuwa Yahaya, APC as the winner of the election in Gombe State.
Declaring the winner on Sunday, the Returning Officer for the election and the Vice Chancellor of Federal University Gashua, Yobe State, Professor Maimuna Waziri, said Inuwa scored a total of 342,821 votes to get re-elected as Governor of the State.
His closest rival, Mohammed Jibrin Barde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), scored 233,131 votes.
Ahmed Mailantarki of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) came third with 19,861 votes while Keftin Amuga of the Labour Party (LP) scored 1,753.
INEC also declared Umar Namadi, candidate of the APC as the winner of the March 18 governorship election, in Jigawa State.
INEC Collation Officer for the governorship election in Jigawa, Zaiyanu Umar, announced the results on Sunday evening, in Dutse, the State capital.
Namadi won in 26 of the 27 local government areas in the State, with a total of 618,449 votes to defeat his closest rivals, Mustafa Lamido of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 368,726 and Aminu Ringim of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), who got 37,156 votes.
The Deputy Governor and former Commissioner of Finance will replace the incumbent, Abubakar Badaru of the APC, whose two-term of eight years ends on May 29, 2023.
In Sokoto State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) upset the ruling PDP as its candidate, Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, emerged winner of Saturday’s election.
Aliyu was declared duly elected by the Returning Officers, Professor Armayau Hamisu, from Federal University, Dutsinma, Katsina State.
He said Aliyu, who was deputy to Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal from 2015 to 2018, polled 453,661 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Malam Sa’idu Umar of PDP, who scored, 404,632 votes.
According to the collated results, Aliyu won in eighteen, out of the twenty-three Local Governments in the State.
The breakdown showed that the APC candidate recorded wins in Binji, Wurno, Yabo, Gwadabawa, Rabah, Bodinga, Tangaza, Kware, Dange-Shuni, Sabon Birnin, Shagari, Illela, Gudu, Gada, Kebbe, Sokoto South, Wamakko and Sokoto North Local Governments Areas.
Election monitoring groups in their preliminary reports on the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections were uncomplimentary.
Although they commended INEC for early arrival of materials at most of the 176,846 polling units across the country, the local observers agreed that the “final outcome may not reflect the wishes of the people.”
Ms Ene Obi, Country Director of Action Aid Nigeria, the Convener of Civil Society Situation Room, YIAGA Africa and Centre for Democracy and Development were united in their views that vote buying, voter suppression, thuggery/violence and apathy hallmarked the polls.
Voters and police officers were shot dead in states such as Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Lagos, Niger, Osun and Rivers.
“Voters were harassed, electoral materials destroyed, vote-buying was higher in state elections compared to what was applicable in the presidential election, and voters accredited without the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS),” noted Mr. Ezenwa Nwagwu, board member of YIAGA Africa, which deployed 1,547 observers in 28 states where the governorship poll held.
The CDD Executive dDrector, Idayat Hassan, who presented a report on the electoral process in six geo-political zones of the country, said:
“This might be a reflection of the heightened political environment around governorship polls, the importance of local personalities in state-level politics, and the shortages of fuel and Naira.”