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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Usman Ododo, has been declared winner of the keenly contested Kogi State governorship election.
The state’s Returning Officer, Prof Johnson Urama, who is the deputy vice chancellor (Academic) of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, announced Ododo as the winner at exactly 10:23pm on Sunday.
Ododo polled 446,237 votes, to defeat his closest challenger, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who got 259,052 votes. Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 46,362 votes to place a distant third.
Ododo, an ex-Auditor General for Local Government under Governor Yahaya Bello, was the anointed candidate of the governor who is ending his second term next year.
Melaye had on Saturday, raised an alarm over “pre-filled result sheets” in Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area of the state. The PDP candidate also called for the suspension of the exercise over allergies violence and vote buying. INEC subsequently suspended election in nine wards in the local government area.
Late Sunday, INEC said fresh polls may be conducted in 59 polling units in Ogori/Magongo, Adavi, Ajaokuta, Okehi and Okene Local Government Areas of the state on November 18, 2023.
It, however, added that the decision to hold fresh elections is subject to the returning officer’s determination of the application of the Margin of Lead Principle.
The total number of registered voters in the affected polling units was, however, insignificant to the almost 200,000 votes margin between Ododo and Ajaka.
See final votes scored by the parties below:
A – 1,254
AA – 1,440
AAC – 424
ADC – 21,819
ADP – 1064
APC – 446,237
APGA – 469
APM – 130
APP – 1,135
BP – 82
LP – 567
NNPP – 136
NRM – 242
PDP – 46,362
PRP – 781
SDP – 259,052
YPP – 868
ZLP – 227
TOTAL VALID VOTES: 782,289
REJECTED VOTES: 9,601
TOTAL VOTES CAST: 791,890