After a pulsating suspense amid the Anxiety of canceled results in some Polling Units (PUs), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last night declared Usman Ododo of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Winner of the Off-cycle Governorship Election in Kogi State.
Ododo polled 446,237 votes to defeat Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who came second with 259,052 Votes, while Dino Melaye, Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), scored 46,362 votes.
For the other two States of Imo and Bayelsa where Elections were held on Saturday, there was no major Upset as INEC declared Governor Hope Uzodimma of the APC winner, while Governor Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in a comfortable lead after Collation of results were Adjourned till 12noon today with results from two LGAs – Brass and Southern Ijaw –yet to be collated.
As of yesterday, Diri extended his lead in results so far declared by INEC.
With the absolute results from six out of the eight LGAs of the State, Diri is leading by 64,106 Votes, after scoring a total of 137,909 Votes from the six LGAs.
He won in five LGAs, while his closest challenger, Timipre Sylva of APC, has won in only one LGA – Nembe.
But for Conducting a less than satisfactory election, INEC has come under fire for going ahead to collated results despite Instances of Alleged over-voting in the Election in Kogi.
Some Stakeholders alleged that Election results displayed on the IReV Portal revealed cases of Over-voting in Okehi, Adavi, and Okene LGAs.
However, the Kogi State Collation Officer, Prof. Sani Mohammed, went ahead to uphold the Results.
The situation sparked concerns about the process, with Stakeholders demanding Immediate Intervention from INEC Headquarters to address the Alleged Irregularities and uphold the Integrity of the Electoral system.
