After a closely contested battle, the Kogi State Governorship Election held on November 11, 2023, has declared Usman Ododo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, as the winner.
The State Returning Officer, Prof Johnson Urama, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, announced Ododo’s victory at 10:23 pm on Sunday.
“Ahmed Usman Ododo of APC, having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Urama declared amidst a crowded room of party agents and election observers.
Ododo secured victory with 446,237 votes, surpassing his closest rival, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who scored 259,052. Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 46,362 votes.
Results from the 21 local government areas (LGAs) in the state were collated late Sunday, with the APC candidate dominating in over half of the LGAs.
As an ex-Auditor General of Local Government in Kogi under Governor Yahaya Bello, Ododo was the preferred candidate of the governor, concluding his double terms of eight years.
On Saturday, Melaye and civil rights groups raised concerns over “filled result sheets” in the Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area.
The PDP candidate called for the suspension of the exercise, citing violence and vote buying.
In response, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) suspended the election in nine wards in the local government area.
INEC later announced that fresh polls would be conducted in 59 polling units in Ogori/Magongo on November 18, 2023, introducing a condition that the decision would be subject to the Returning Officer’s determination of the application of the Margin of Lead Principle.
In the declaration late Sunday, Urama noted that the total number of Permanent Voter Cards in the affected polling units was 16,247, a figure deemed insignificant compared to the approximately 200,000 votes garnered by the APC candidate ahead of his closest rival, Ajaka.
