Lokoja – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday declared Mr Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of Kogi governorship election.
Bello scored 247,762 votes to defeat the incumbent Governor, Idris Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party, who polled 204,877 votes.
The Returning Officer of the governorship election, Prof. Emmanuel Kucha, declared the results in Lokoja after the conclusion of the supplementary election held in 91 polling units.
He said the results were a merger of the election held on Nov. 21 and the supplementary poll conducted in 91 polling units on Dec. 5.
“The results of the supplementary election shows that the APC scored 6,885 votes, while PDP got 5,363 votes.
“Only 13,000 out of the 49,000 registered voters expected to vote in the supplementary election turned out for accreditation and voting,” he said.
Kucha said out of the 494,723 votes cast during the exercise, only 21,740 were invalidated.
The returning officer described the election as peaceful and successful.
Mr Mumuni Okara, agent of the APC at the collation centre, described the results as satisfactory, saying that the declared results tallied what the party’s agents had obtained from the various polling units.
Capt. Joe Agada (rtd), who represented the PDP at the collation centre, however, said his party would challenge the results at the tribunal
The News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) reports that all the party agents present signed the result sheets.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised its members to remain calm following INEC declaration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as the Governor-elect of Kogi.
This is contained in a statement signed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh on Sunday in Abuja.
He said that that advice became necessary because some people might want to use the development as an opportunity to trigger trouble.
Metuh, stressed that the law would soon “take the centre stage on the result of the election”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that INEC on Sunday declared Alhaji Yahaya Bello of APC the winner of Kogi governorship election.
Prof. Emmanuel Kucha, the Returning Officer for the election, who declared the results in Lokoja, said that Bello scored a total of 247,762 votes to defeat the Gov. Idris Wada of the PDP.
He added that Wada polled 204,877 votes after the conclusion of the supplementary election held in 91 polling units.
The returning officer said that the results were a merger of the inconclusive election of Nov. 21 and the supplementary poll of Dec. 5, conducted in 91 polling units.
Kucha said that APC scored 6,885 votes, while PDP got 5,363 votes in the election of Dec.5.
“Only 13,000, out of the 49,000 registered voters expected to vote in the supplementary election turned out for accreditation and voting,” he said.
The returning officer described the election as peaceful and successful.
Retired Capt. Joe Agada, who represented the PDP at the collation centre in Lokoja, earlier said his party would challenge the results at the tribunal.
