The Independent National Electoral Commission on Sunday proclaimed Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Muhammadu Yahaya (Gombe), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe) and AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara) the victors of Saturday’s gubernatorial election.
Likewise, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno; Dr Dikko Radda of the Katsina State All Progressives Congress and his counterpart in Jigawa State, Namadi Dammodi, emerged as the governors-elect.
The APC candidate in the Sokoto State gubernatorial election, Ahmad Sokoto, similarly emerged as the governor-elect in the state, while Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum was headed for victory having won the 22 local government areas announced so far in the state on Sunday.
There were also strong signs that the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, would be re-elected as he emerged triumphant in 14 out of the 19 LGAs results released as of 10.21 pm on Sunday, while his closest competitor, Sadique Abubakar of the APC won five local government areas.
Similarly, the APC candidate in Benue, Rev Fr. Hyacinth Alia, is now dominating his opponents in the results thus far released by the election commission.
Makinde of the PDP was proclaimed the victor of the gubernatorial race in Oyo State after collecting 563,756 votes to defeat his nearest challenger, Teslim Folarin of the All Progressive Congress got 256,685 votes.
Adebayo Adelabu of the Accord Party earned 38,357 votes. Makinde, in an interview with newsmen, immediately after he won re-election said he was thrilled by the display of affection poured on him by the people of the state.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Taiwo Adisa, said the governor was accompanied by his wife, Tamunominimin and surrounded by family members, friends and acquaintances while celebrating the win at his mansion situated in the Ikolaba area of Ibadan.
He praised the wonderful people of the state for the trust reposed in his government and his capacity to lead them.
Makinde stated, “The forthcoming government which is dubbed Omituntun 2.0, is a film that will be a lot better, sweeter and more effective when compared to Omituntun 1.0.
“Right now, I am overwhelmed. I want to thank the wonderful people of the state for the faith they have reposed in our government and my capacity to lead them.’’
Governor Abiodun gained a second term in office after polling 276,298 votes to overcome his PDP opponent, Oladipupo Adebutu, who received 262,383 votes and 12 other candidates.
The returning officer of the gubernatorial election in Ogun State, Prof. Kayode Adebowale declared Abiodun at the collation facility of the commission in the state.
According to him, the total number of registered voters was 2,688,305, while accredited voters were 666,406.
Adebowale claimed a total of 645,133 votes were legitimate while 18,835 ballots were rejected out of the 663,968 total votes cast.
Sanwo-Olu was re-elected as he won the greatest number of votes in the gubernatorial election conducted on Saturday. The results were released on Sunday at INEC’s collation facility in Yaba, Lagos.
The governor was proclaimed victorious with 762,134 votes while his closest challenger, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party, earned 312,329 votes. The candidate of the PDP, Olajide Adediran, placed third with 62,449 votes.
Sanwo-Olu re-elected
Sanwo-Olu triumphed in 19 LGAs, while Rhodes-Vivour emerged winner in Amuwo Odofin LGA, as declared by the Returning Officer, Adenike Oladiji, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State.
Previously, Oladiji stated, “This site is a collation centre and what that therefore implies is that we will be combining results as they have arrived from the various LGAs from the polling units.
“What it implies is we do not create outcomes and that means we are given to affect anything here. We merely collect what comes to us and to assure that we do it properly, what we do is to evaluate the validity of values when the results are announced.”
So far, the total number of votes cast was 1,123,302, the number of rejected votes was 16,798, and the total number of legitimate votes was 1,107,248
In his presentation, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Olusegun Agbaje, cautioned residents not to regard an election as a do-or-die event, noting that he got a lot of threats throughout the election.
He stated, “It is quite weird that at this time in Nigeria, we still consider elections as a do-or-die affair but elections should not be seen as do-or-die events.
“Our mission is to midwife elections and we want politicians to engage with us to do a good job. The problem of seizing ballot boxes is not nice at all. Even if it is occurring, it shouldn’t happen in Lagos.”
This post will be updated as more results troop in
