FULL LIST: Winners And Losers Of Governorship Elections In 26 States

• Governorship elections held in 28 states of the federation last Saturday, March 18, 2023.

• However, only 26 states have returned winners as of Thursday evening.

• The remaining two elections were declared inconclusive.

Eko Hot Blog reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the winners of governorship elections in 26 of the 28 states that participated in the March 18 polls.

The commission made the last declaration of a winner late Wednesday night in Enugu State.

EDITOR’S PICKS  

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The remaining two states that are yet to return a winner are in the northern part of the country.

This story details the winners and losers of the governorship elections in the 26 states that have returned winners.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) won in 15 states — more than half of the declared states — while the People Democratic Party (PDP) picked up nine states. The Labour Party (LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) won one state each.

The 26 governorship elections — that have returned winners — witnessed nine re-elected governors, 17 new victorious candidates, including one beating an incumbent.

1. ABIA STATE

Alex Otti of the LP made history with his victory in the March 18 governorship election.

He is the first non-PDP candidate to win in Abia State since 1999 and also the first LP candidate to win a governorship poll since former Ondo State Governor, Olusegun Mimiko.

Otti won 10 of the 17 LGAs in Abia, scoring 175,467 votes to defeat Okey Ahiwe of the PDP, who scored 88,529 and Enyinnaya Nwafor of the YPP, who got 28,972 votes.

2. AKWA IBOM STATE

Umo Eno of the PDP won 29 of the 31 LGAs in the state with a total of 354,348 votes.

Eno, a former Commissioner for Lands in Akwa Ibom, will succeed outgoing Governor Udom Emmanuel, a PDP member, whose tenure ends on May 29, 2023.

The Young Progressives Party (YPP) candidate, Bassey Albert, emerged as Eno’s closest rival with a total of 136,262 votes, while the APC candidate, Akanimo Udofia, polled a total of 129,602 votes.

The candidates of the NNPP, Akpanudoedehe John James, and Uduakobong Oeter Udoh of the LP scored 12,509 and 4,746 votes, respectively.

3. BAUCHI STATE

Governor Bala Mohammed was one of the two PDP governors who secured reelection for another four-year term (Governor Ahmadu Fintiri’s reelection bid in Adamawa State has not concluded).

Mohammed polled 525,280 votes to trounce his closest rival and the candidate of the APC, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar who polled 432,272.

Abubakar is Nigeria’s immediate past Chief of Air Staff.

4. BENUE STATE

In Benue, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, a Catholic priest won the race for the government house by a margin of more than 250,000.

The priest cum politician polled 473,933 votes ahead of his closest rival and PDP candidate, Titus Uba, who scored 223,913.

Alia’s victory means Benue will have an APC governor for the first time in more than four years.

Recall that the incumbent governor, Samuel Ortom, won the 2019 election on the platform of the PDP. However, he won his first term in 2015 as an APC candidate.

5. BORNO STATE

Meanwhile, Governor Babagana Zulum overwhelmingly secured reelection, winning more than 80% of the vote.

He received 545, 543 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mohammed Jajari of the PDP, who polled 82, 147 votes.

Zulum polled the majority votes in all the 27 local government areas of the state to emerge as the winner of the contest.

6. CROSS RIVER STATE

Cross River stayed in the APC column as the party’s candidate, Bassey Out, polled 258,619 votes to defeat the PDP candidate, Sandy Onor, who scored 179,636 votes.

Out, a former federal lawmaker, won in 15 of the 18 local government areas of the state.

The victory is a first for APC in Cross River.

Recall that the incumbent governor, Ben Ayade, a member of the APC, was elected governor under the umbrella of the PDP in 2019.

He defected to the APC a few years later.

7. DELTA STATE

The Delta PDP regained its mojo last Saturday after it had lost the presidential poll three weeks ago.

The PDP candidate, Rt Honorable Sheriff Oborevwori, polled 360, 234 votes to defeat the APC candidate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who scored 240, 229.

The LP candidate, Kennedy Pela, came a distant third with 48, 047 votes, failing to rediscover the magic that overwhelmingly won the state for his party on February 25.

Oborevwori clinched 21 out of the 25 LGAs of the state, leaving the APC with four LGAs.

The PDP candidate is the current speaker of the Delta House of Assembly, while the APC candidate is the current deputy president of the Nigerian Senate.

8. EBONYI STATE

The incumbent Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Francis Nwifuru, won a big promotion from the number 3 Ebonyi citizen to the number one citizen last Saturday.

Nwifuru, the APC candidate, garnered a total of 199,131 votes cast across the 13 local governments in the state.

His closest challenger, Ifeanyi Odii of the PDP got a total of 80,191 votes to place second.

The APGA candidate, Bernard Odoh, came third with 52,189 votes.

APC’s victory in Ebonyi is another state lost for the PDP, which won the race easily in 2019 and the years before then.

The defection of Governor Umahi to the APC gave the party a good shot of capturing the southeast state.

9. ENUGU STATE

The Enugu governorship election is one of the two races that were called late due to irregularities.

The wait for a winner ended around 10:47 pm on Wednesday night as INEC declared Peter Mbah of the PDP the winner of the 2023 governorship election in the state.

Mbah narrowly won the race, polling 160,895 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the LP candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, who scored 157,552 votes.

The APGA candidate, Frank Nweke Jr, garnered 17,983 votes to come a distant third, while the APC candidate, Uche Nnaji, placed fourth, with 14,575 votes.

10. GOMBE STATE

Governor Inuwa Yahaya of the APC won Saturday’s governorship election for a second term in office.

Yahaya polled 342,821 votes to beat the PDP candidate, Muhammad Jibiri Barde, who scored 233,131 votes.

The result declared by the Returning Officer, Maimuna Waziri, showed that the APC won the election with a margin of 74,493 votes.

11. JIGAWA

Elsewhere, the current deputy governor, Umar Namadi, retained the governorship for the APC, winning in 26 of the 27 local government areas in Jigawa with a total of 618,449 votes.

His closest challenger, Mustapha Lamido of the PDP won in his hometown, Birnin Kudu Local Government Area, but he fell well short of clinching the prize, emerging second with a total of 368,726 votes.

The candidate of NNPP, Aminu Ibrahim, came a distant third with 37,156 votes.

Namadi won with a margin of 249,723 votes.

12. KADUNA STATE

In Kaduna, sitting senator, Uba Sani, narrowly won his governorship bid.

Sani polled a total of 730,002 votes to defeat his closest rival, Isa Ashiru of the PDP, who polled 719,196 votes.

The LP candidate, Jonathan Asake, came a distant third after polling 58,283 votes while the NNPP candidate, Suleiman Hunkuyi scored 21,405 votes.

Sani’s victory was a comeback for the APC in Kaduna after the party lost all three senatorial seats and most of the House of Representatives seats in the February 25 poll.

13. KANO STATE

In Kano State, it was second-time lucky for Abba Kabir Yusuf of the NNPP, who helped the party take the governor’s seat from the APC.

Yusuf polled 1,019,602 votes to defeat his closest rival, APC’s candidate and incumbent deputy governor, Nasir Gawuna, who polled 890,705 votes.

The NNPP candidate, who was then with the PDP, had narrowly lost the 2019 race to incumbent governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, in a race marred by electoral violence.

14. KATSINA STATE

The APC retained its utter dominance in Katsina State, the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The APC candidate, Dikko Radda, polled 859,892 votes to defeat his closest rival of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Yakubu Lado, who got 486,620 votes.

The NNPP candidate, Nura Khalil, won 8263 votes, while Imran Jino of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) got 4,226 votes. Ibrahim Zakari of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) got 1,049 votes.

LP’s Abu Musawa won only 560 votes.

15. KWARA STATE

In Kwara, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq emerged victorious for the second time in four years.

Abdulrazaq polled 273,424 votes to beat his closest rival, Alhaji Yaman Abdullahi of the PDP who scored 155,490 votes in the election.

The governor’s victory meant former Senate President Bukola Saraki, who backed the PDP candidate, will continue to be in the cold as far as Kwara politics is concerned.

The huge wave of “O to ge (It is enough)” during the 2019 campaign dislodged Saraki’s political structure in the state.

16. LAGOS STATE

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC repelled a spirited campaign from LP’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour to retain his seat for another four years.

The LP’s surprising victory in the February 25 presidential election had rattled the APC and signalled a loss was on the horizon, but the ruling party staged a strong comeback to retain its dominance in Lagos amid allegations of voter suppression.

Sanwo-Olu won by a landslide, polling 762,134 votes to defeat Rhodes-Vivour, who scored 312,329 votes.

17. NASARAWA STATE

Governor Abdullahi Sule of the APC won the March 18 poll in Nasarawa according to Ishaya Tanko, INEC’s returning officer for the election, who officially announced the result on Monday in Lafia, the state capital.

The INEC official said the APC candidate polled a total of 347,209 votes to defeat his closest opponent, David Ombugadu of the PDP, who secured 283,016 votes.

18. NIGER STATE

Umar Bago of the APC polled 469,896 votes to defeat his closest rival, Isah Liman-Kantigi of the PDP, who scored 387,476 votes.

Also, Joshua Bawa of the LP and Ibrahim Yahaya of the NNPP got 3,415 and 3,378 votes, respectively.

Furthermore, the Action Democratic Party (ADP) scored 2,001 votes, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) polled 1,746 votes, followed by Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) with 992 votes.

19. OGUN STATE

Governor Dapo Abiodun of the APC narrowly won reelection in the March 18 election.

He scored 276,298 votes to defeat the PDP candidate, Ladi Adebutu, who polled 262,383 votes to come second. Adebutu trailed the incumbent with 13,915 votes.

Biyi Otegbeye of the ADC, who was backed by former Governor Ibikunle Amosun, polled 94, 754 votes to come third.

20. OYO

Seyi Makinde, one of the most popular state governors in the country, easily won reelection to the government house in Agodi, Ibadan, the state capital.

Makinde, a PDP candidate, won in 31 local government areas with a total of 563,756 votes to defeat his closest rival, Teslim Folarin of the APC, who won in the two remaining LGAs and scored 256,685 votes.

The governorship candidate of the Accord Party, Adebayo Adelabu, came third in the race with a total of 38,357 votes.

Makinde’s reelection bid initially appeared to be in danger after his party heavily lost in Oyo in the presidential poll.

The governor, a member of the radical group of five PDP governors who failed to back their party’s presidential candidate because he’s not from the southern part of the country, however, braved the odds and emerged victorious by a margin of more than 300,000 votes.

21. PLATEAU STATE

Caleb Mutfwang of the PDP scored 525,299 votes to defeat his closest rival, Nantawe Yilwatda of the APC, who polled 481,370 votes, while Patrick Dakum of the LP came a distant third with 60,310 votes.

The PDP candidate secured 43,929 votes higher than the APC candidate who was anointed by the incumbent, Simon Lalong.

Mutfwang’s victory means the PDP will take over the state from APC’s grasp.

22. RIVERS STATE

Sim Fubara kept Rivers in the strong grasp of the PDP by winning the state’s governorship poll.

 

He scored 302,614 votes to defeat APC’s Tonye Cole, received 95,274 votes. LP’s Beatrice Itubo came a distant third, polling 22,224 votes.

Fubara, an anointed candidate of incumbent governor, Nyesom Wike, continues the dominance of the PDP in the Niger Delta state.

23. SOKOTO STATE

The PDP lost control of the state with the victory of APC’s Ahmed Aliyu in Saturday’s governorship poll.

The State Collation Officer, Bichi Amaya’u, who announced the result in Sokoto on Sunday, said Aliyu polled a total of 453,661 votes to defeat his closest rival and candidate of the PDP, Saidu Umar, who polled 404,632.

Aliyu, an ally of a former governor of Sokoto State and sitting senator, Aliyu Wamakko, was the deputy to Governor Aminu Tambuwal during his first tenure between 2015 and 2019.

In 2019, he contested against Tambuwal, a member of the PDP, and lost with a close margin of 342 votes after a re-run.

It’s a second time lucky for Aliyu and his party and they will take over the government house from the ruling PDP on May 29, 2023.

24. TARABA STATE

The PDP candidate, Kefas Agbu, a newcomer, won the Taraba governorship race by a margin of more than 100,000 votes.

He polled 302,614 votes to defeat the NNPP candidate, Muhammad Yahaya, who scored 202,277 votes.

Agbu is a retired Nigerian army lieutenant colonel and former PDP state chairman.

25. YOBE STATE

In Yobe, Governor Mala Buni of Yobe, secured his second and final term as the state’s chief executive.

INEC Returning Officer, Umaru Pate, a professor, declared Buni as the winner of the March 18 election in Damaturu, the state capital on Sunday, March 19.

Pate said Buni of APC polled 317,113 votes to defeat his closest opponent, Sherif Abdullahi of the PDP, who scored 124, 259 votes.

26. ZAMFARA STATE

The 2023 governorship election cycle witnessed its biggest upset in Zamfara State as the PDP candidate, Dauda Lawal, unseated incumbent governor, Bello Matawalle.

INEC declared Lawal the governor-elect with a total of 377,726 votes, helping him defeat Matawalle of the APC, who polled 311,976.

The upset makes Matawalle the only sitting governor to lose a reelection bid in this election cycle as Fintiri waits to learn his fate in Adamawa.

The election result came to many people in and out of Zamfara as a surprise because the PDP had never won a governorship election in the state since 1999.

The PDP lost to the various iterations of the ruling party in previous elections: from the All Peoples Party (APP) to the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) to the APC.

Matawalle himself came to power as a PDP candidate in 2019 but it was the Supreme Court that gave him the top job having penalised the APC for not nominating its victorious candidate through valid primaries.

He quickly decamped to APC, however, apparently concluding that only the party’s platform could guarantee him a second term.

However, he lost the election to PDP’s first-time candidate, Lawal, in a stunning upset.

INCONCLUSIVE ELECTIONS

Meanwhile, the Kebbi and Adamawa State governorship elections have been declared inconclusive.

In Adamawa, Governor Fintiri of the PDP scored the highest votes, but INEC said the cancelled votes were more than the margin of victory between Fintiri and the runner-up, Aisha Dahiru of the APC.

A new date will be fixed for re-run elections in areas where elections could not hold in the state.

At the end of the official tally of results, Fintiri defeated Dahiru, popularly called Binani, with a margin of over 30,000 votes.

The incumbent governor scored 421,524 votes while Dahiru won 390,275 votes.

Fintiri also won the election in 13 of Adamawa’s 21 local government areas while Binani won in the remaining eight.

In Kebbi, Nasir Idris of the APC and Aminu Bande of the PDP are the leading candidates.

INEC’s Returning Officer, Professor Yusuf Sa’idu, declared the race inconclusive because there were breaches of electoral laws that led to cancellations of results in polling units within 20 of the 21 LGAs in the state.

He said violence, destruction of election materials, disruption of electoral proceedings and over voting, plaid a role in having the election declared inconclusive.

Before declaring the election inconclusive, APC was leading the polls with 388,258 votes, as against 342,980 votes polled by the PDP. The margin between both parties is 45,278.

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Both re-run elections are expected to hold in the coming weeks.

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