State Elections: Winners  And Losers, Amid Electoral Violence

 By Lateef Adegbite

The March 18, 2023, governorship and state House of Assembly elections organised by Professor Mahmood Yakubu, led Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC,appeared to have been ranked as one of the worst since 1019.

This is because the election was characterized by violence leading to some of the governorship elections being declared inconclusive by the Commission. This is evident going by what is happening in Abia and Enugu states, in the south east eastern Nigeria  where the Collation of votes, were said to have been suspended by the electoral umpire to avoid shedding of innocent  bloods.

Going by the way the declaration of results from each of the Local government Areas in the two south eastern states  collation centres, it was obvious that  the Opposition  Labour Party, LP, will clinch the governorship slot,  which the ruling People’s  Democratic Party , PDP, did not find funny.

Oti: LP, Governorship Candidate In Abia State

This may have drawn the attention of Prof. Yakubu, the INEC, Chairman, who was said to have given a matching order to the Resident Electoral Commissioners in the two south east states, after a meeting in the Commission’s Headquarters in    in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT,‘’to review of the  results  in some parts of Abia and Enugu states, respectively.

Festus Okoye , , INEC , National Commissioner, Information and Voters Education Committee,  had  cinfirmed that ‘’the Commission took  the decision  after  a meeting  to review  the elections  in the 28 states of the Federation where e elections were held’’. The Commission may have been angered by the incident  at  its office in  Obingwa Local government  Area of Abia state  on Sunday , March 19, 2023, where party thugs  were said to  have invaded  and held its officials hostage  in the collation  of results from the LGA.

 The Commission may have also responded to the call for a review   of the results of the governorship election from the two outstanding LGAs of Nsuka and Nkanu East, in Enugu state..It was not surprising why the Commission have no option tut to suspend the collation of results in Obingwa LGA of Abia state and the two outstanding LGAs of Enugu state which are yet to be collated.

In the north western state of Kebbi, the Commission was said to have also declared the governorship election inconclusive to calm frayed nerves.  Professor  Yusuf  Sa’adu,  had said the measures  became necessary  because ‘’ there were breaches  of  the 2022, Electoral Act, which was said to have led to the cancelations  of results  in 21 polling units within 20 of the 21, LGAs, in the state. He did not stop there. 

Prof. Sa’adu, wh  served as the state Returning officer, had said that ‘’violence, destruction of election materials, disruption of  electoral proceedings and over voting’’,  played a role  in having the governorship election  in Kebbi state being declared inconclusive.  Note that before declaring the election inconclusive, the ruling APC, in the state was leading  the polls  with  388,258 votes  to the Opposition PDP Candidate’  342,980 votes.

Sawo-Olu: Declared Governor -Elect In Lagos State

Many had expected the Commission to have also declared the governorship election in Lagos state inclusive, because of the widespread electoral violence, leading to snatching of Ballot boxes, destruction of election materials and disruption of voting in scores of polling units in the state.

Amid the electoral violence during the  election in the state  that was marked by ‘’ voters suppression, ethnic intimidation, political thuggery and physical attacks on voters, INEC staff and security  personnel alike, which was nothing  compared to the incident in Abia and Enugu states,    Sanwo-OLU, the APC, on election duty, Babajide sanwo-Olu, the  governor of the south western state , who was said to have   scored a total of  720,134 votes  to Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, his closest rival, from the LP, who polled 62,446 votes, was declared the winner of the governorship election in the  state.

The situation in Kano  state may  have  appeared worrisome  after the elections as loyalists of the  New Nigerian People’s Party, NNPP, were said to have  defiled the down –to dusk-curfew  imposed o by Abdullahi Gandunje, , the ruling APC, governor of  the state on Sunday, March 19, 2023, to prevent breakdown of law and order in the state over the delclaration of  Abbah Kabir, the NNPP, flag bearer as the governor-elect of the state.

Kano Residents Defy State Government Curfew To March To The Streets Over Governorship Election Results

The situation is even more worrisome in   Zamfara  state, which is sitting on a keg of gunpowder as the Opposition PDP, which had  accused Bello Matawale, the  governor of trying to  manipulate the Authentic  results from Maradun, LGA, which  have been uploaded to the INEC , ReV, to favor the APC, had vowed to fight back to frustrate such plan.

 Dauda Lawal, the PDP,governorship Candidate , in the state  had told those that cares to listen  that  Matawalle, the state governor  is not ready  ‘’to accept defeat in peace’’, which may throw the state into crisis.  Acting on information from close sources, the PDP, Flag bearer, who could beat his chest that the Zamfara governor  may not succeed in forcing the INEC officials, ‘’to allocate figures in his favour’’ because the Commission had already   uploaded   results of 185 polling units out of a total of 195, in Maradum LGA to its sever.

Notwithstanding that there have been winners and losers  as results of the governorship  and state Assembly  polls  are being collated  across the country,  the European  Union, EU,  says  no fewer  than 21 persons  have died from electoral violence during the elections.

 Note that Prof. Babaga Zulum, an Mai Mala Buni, Yobe , Dapo Abodun, Ogun,  Eng.Abdullahi Sule, Nasarawa, APC,  Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe, Abdurahman Abdulrazaq, Kwara, all former APC, governors, who were said to have sought re-election , were returned to office for another four –year term.

Also, , Seyi Makinde, Oyo, Bala Mohammed, Bauchi, Ahmadu Fintiri, Adamawa,  all former PDP, governors,  were said to have equally  made the list of re-elected governors, in their respective states.  

 There is no gain saying the fact that the ruling APC , is celebrating big wins in the just concluded  governorship election, across the country and truly asserting itself in power, while flipping in  taking over some of the states   previously controlled by the Opposition PDP.

 Indeed, the Christian  Association of Nigerian, CAN, may have  cause to encourage more of its members to go into politics as shown by  Rev. Father  Hyacinth Alia, of the APC,  who polled 473,833 votes  , ahead of his closest rival  and PDP, Candidate,  Titus Mba,  who scored 223, 913, to be declared the governor-elect of Benue state by Prof.  Faruq Auta, the Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Capital of Niger state.

Rev. Fr. Alia: APC .Governor -Elect Of Benue State

 The new faces that would be  seen  in the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF,  this time around  include,  Caled Mtfwang, Plateau, Plateau, Sheriff Obrewori, Delta,  Simanyi Fubara, Rivers,  PDP  an Umo Eno, Akwa Ibom, all of the PDP.  While he APC, will boast of Dikko Umaru Radda, Katsina,  Bassey Otu, Cross river,  Umar Bago, Niger,  Francis Nwifu, Eboyi, andUmar Namadi, Jigawa.

For the state Assembly election, the biggest losers were Muazu Maganya, Speaker, Zamfara state House of Assembly, Musa Bawa Yankuzo,  the House Deputy Speaker  and Nasiru Lawal Bungudu,  Deputy Leader. The trio, were said to have lost their Seats to PDP, Candidates I their various Constituencies in the state.

Another major loser in the just concluded state Assembly election, was  Ahmed Lawan Mirwa,  who was beaten in the keenly contested  Nguru II, Constituency slot , by 36 year-old,  Lawa Musa, of  the PDP.  Mirwa, the Yobe state Speaker, has been in the state House of Assembly since 2003. 

Hajia Rukayat: Youngest Elected Female House Of Assembly Member In Kwara State

The biggest shock in the State Assembly election was in Kwara state where a 26 year-old Hajia Rukayat Shittu, of the APC, won the Owode /Onire Constituency.  Suffice it to say that  Hajia Shittu,  is the youngest  Lawmaker  in the north central state  of Kwra and arguably  the youngest in the country  to clinch  a House of Seat  in the 2023  state House of Assembly  elections.  

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