FULL LIST: APC Won 4 Out of 5 Guber Elections Conducted Under Tinubu’s Govt
- The ruling APC has secured four out of five states in the governorship elections conducted under Tinubu's government
- Nigeria's main opposition party, PDP, has secured only one, Bayelsa state, led by Governor Douye Diri
- With victories in Edo, Ondo and two other states in the off-cycle gubernatorial elections, APC has continued its stronghold in Nigerian politics
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Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
After President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29, 2023, five states have conducted gubernatorial elections.
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Reports disclosed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged as the winner in four out of the five governorship elections conducted under Tinubu's FG so far.
Every four years, Nigeria has presidential, National Assembly, gubernatorial and state house of assemblies elections at the same time. However, there are off-cycle elections held outside of the general election timetable, Nigerian Tribune reports.
The last general election was held on February 25, 2023, and some governors were elected into office, but not all states participated in the poll. Some states have held gubernatorial elections outside of the general election since then.
This is due to some issues that arose during elections in several states, resulting in an off-cycle election. Among these states are Bayelsa, Kogi, Anambra, Imo, Osun, Ondo, Edo, and Ekiti.
What led to off-cycle elections in these states?
In 1999, Nigeria returned to democracy, and elections were held simultaneously in all states of the federation. Several candidates who were dissatisfied with the outcome petitioned the court to reclaim their mandate.
The electoral petition tribunal requested the dismissal of several governors, and other states with challenged results held re-elections.
This is how the eight Nigerian states became off-cycle electoral states.
List of state elections conducted since Tinubu’s inauguration
On November 11, 2023, gubernatorial elections were held in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states and in 2024, elections were held in Edo and Ondo states.
Bayelsa state governorship poll
Bayelsa state was the first to conduct off-cycle polls in 2023. No fewer than 16 political parties participated in the gubernatorial elections, with two females and 14 males.
The major contenders were incumbent Diri Duoye of the PDP, Eradiri Udengmobofa of the Labour Party, Timipre Sylva of the APC, and Ogege Mercy of the APP (female).
PDP's Diri was declared the winner of the Bayelsa state governorship election held on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
INEC REC in the state, Obo Effanga, declared Diri winner after he cleared six of the eight local governments in the state.
Diri, polled a total of 175,196 votes to defeat 15 other candidates including his closest rival, Chief Timipre Sylva of the APC. Sylva came second, with 110,108 votes and Udengs came a distant third with 905 votes.
Kogi state off-cycle election
Kogi, on the other hand, had 18 candidates, 17 men, and 1 woman in the race to replace Yahaya Bello, who had served two terms (spent 8 years in office).
The major contenders were Usman Ododo of the APC, Dino Melaye of the PDP and Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Others were, Leke Abejide (ADC), Idoko Ilona (APGA), and Suleiman Fatima (ZLP).
INEC officially declared Ahmed Ododo as the winner of the Saturday, November 11, governorship election in Kogi state, having scored a total vote of 446, 237.
According to the returning officer, Johnson Urama, Ododo defeated his closest rival, SDP's Ajaka, who polled 259,052 votes. Melaye came third with 46,362 votes.
Imo state guber poll
Seventeen political parties were on the ballot for the Imo state governorship election and Hope Uzodimma, the incumbent, was a major contender who was seeking re-election.
The election featured Odunzeh Ben, NNPP candidate, Achonu Nneji of the LP (PWD), Anyanwu Samuel of the PDP, and Uzodimma of the APC, vying for the seat.
Uzodimma, a former senator for Orlu (Imo West) and the incumbent governor of the state since 2020, was declared the winner of the 2019 governorship poll.
After collation, INEC announced Uzodimma as the winner, having secured all 27 local government areas in the state with 540,308 votes.
According to INEC, the PDP candidate, Samuel Anyanwu, got a total of 71,503 votes and came a distant second, while the Labour Party candidate, Athan Achonu, scored a total of 64,081 votes.
Edo state off-cycle election
The first off-cycle elections in 2024 featured 17 candidates, consisting of 16 males and one female in Edo state.
The major candidates on the ballot were Senator Monday Okpebholo of the APC, Asue Ighodalo of the PDP, Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party, and Tom Iseghohi of Action Alliance.
At the end of the collation, INEC announced Monday Okpebholo, the APC governorship candidate, as the winner of the Edo state governorship election 2024.
INEC announced on Sunday, September 22, that Okpebholo won 11 out of the 18 LGAs of the state.
According to INEC, the APC candidate polled 291,667 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, came second with 247,274 votes. Meanwhile, Labour Party's Olumide Akpata emerged third with 22,763 votes.
Ondo state governorship election
Seventeen candidates battled for the number one seat of power in the Sunshine state.
The major candidates on the ballot included APC’s Lucky Aiyedatiwa, PDP’s Agboola Ajayi, Olorunfemi Ayodele of the Labour Party, Akingboye Bamidele of the SDP and Abbas Mimiko of ZLP.
But on Sunday, November 17, INEC announced the incumbent governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the winner of the Ondo state governorship election held on Saturday, November 19.
Prof Olayemi Akinwunmi, INEC's presiding officer in the election, said Aiyedatiwa cleared the 18 local governments in the state with a total votes of 366,781.
Coming close in the election was Agboola Ajayi, the candidate of the PDP, who came second with 117, 845 votes.
Ondo 2024: Ganduje vows APC will capture Oyo, Osun states
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the APC national chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, had identified Oyo and Osun states as the party’s next target.
Ganduje spoke in reaction to the election victory of Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa of Ondo state.
Describing the governor as a sellable product, Ganduje appreciated President Tinubu for his support.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
