After a keen contest, the All Progressives Congress Governorship candidate, Usman Ododo, has been announced winner of the November 11 governorship election in Kogi State.
Ododo emerged winner with 446,237 votes, defeating his closest rival, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party, who polled 259,052.
Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), came a distant third position, garnering mere 46,362 votes.
The INEC declared APC’s Ododo the Governor – elect even as it also announced that fresh polls would be conducted later in some polling units in the Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area of the state on November 18, 2023.
The Returning Officer for the Kogi State governorship election, Prof Johnson Urama announced Ododo winner on Sunday evening.
“Ahmed Ododo of APC, having certified by the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Urama said .
APC’s Hope Uzodinma Re – elected In Imo
Earlier in Imo State, the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) announced the incumbent Governor of Imo State and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Hope Uzodinma, as the winner of the just concluded Saturday governorship election in the state.
Uzodinma polled 540,308 votes while the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sam Anyanwu, garnered 71,503 and Athan Achonu of the Labour Party (LP) polled 64,081 votes.
The Returning Officer for the Imo State Governorship Election and Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Professor Abayomi Fashina, who announced the result said Uzodinma scored the highest number of valid votes cast and was returned elected for a second term in office.
Uzodinma won in all the 27 local government areas of the state where the November 11, 2023 governorship poll.
PDP’s Dino Melaye Kicks In Kogi
However, the candidate of the People Democratic party(PDP) in Kogi State Senator Dino Melaye has rejected the result of the Saturday’s governorship election which produced Usman Ododo of the APC as the Governor – elect.
Melaye dismissed the election and the outcome as a sham and charade, saying “the purported APC victory was a pure daylight robbery that can not withstand democratic test in all measure.”
Speaking on the outcome of the election, Melaye said it was married by irregularities in all the three Senatorial Districts in an unprecedented measure in the history of the State.
He said it should not be allowed to stand, describing the exercise as ‘shameful and unhealthy.”
According to him, the INEC has not learnt any lesson to ameliorate and palliate the problem they reportedly created to democratic process during the general elections.
“Yesterday in the Five local government of Central Senatorial districts in Kogi State , there was no election in the end surprisingly accreditation was done manually , the BVAS was not used Prepared sheets manifested even before accreditation and evidence is all over media.
“INEC as matter of urgency must cancel the election , many areas where I won , my agents were told there were no available result sheet to enter the result and we have evidence to back up this claims.
“As I speak to you it is shameful that this what our democracy has descended from to .INEC has manifested ever than before , that they can not be trusted , they are biased, they are compromised and they can not be neutral umpire”.
He alleged INEC officials, youth corps members were caught with prepared result sheets even before the commencement of the process.
” They was deliberate suppression of my my votes in Lokoja and Kogi local governments. This was deliberately done by governor Yahaya Bello and APC to make sure that even their orchestrated arrangement I don’t come second.
“Because they do believe that there will be a a second ballot and they believe if there is a second ballot I have influence and tremendous support in the central and I can make an in road in the East.So they preferred any other person to become second,” he said.
