Prince Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress appears to be heading to victory in the governorship election held in Ogun state on Saturday, just like his counterparts in Lagos, Kaduna, Kwara, Kebbi, Sokoto and Bauchi States.
Victory is being predicted as results began coming in from the various polling booths.
However, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was ahead in Adamawa, Enugu, Delta, Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom States. In Ogun, Dapo Abiodun held steady in the nine local governments east of the state, crushing Abdulkabir Akinlade, the candidate of Governor Ibikunle Amosun, and the PDP candidate, Senator Buruji Kashamu.
From early results declared, Abiodun won handily in Ijebu-Ode and Ijebu North East. Other early results in the zone also favoured him. The APC has already won Ijebu-Ode, the first House of Assembly election result declared. In the governorship result, Abiodun polled 13,234 votes to defeat Amosun’s candidate, Akinlade who got 4401 votes. Kashamu of PDP came second with 7289 votes.
Unlike in the presidential election, Abiodun won with 240 votes at his Ward 3 Unit 2, Ita Osanyin, Iperu, Ikenne Local Government Area to beat his closest rival, Adekunle Akinlade, of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), who polled 71 votes.
Abiodun also won the polling unit of Oladipo Adebutu, a factional governorship candidate of the PDP who went into an alliance with Akinlade against Abiodun.
The APC candidate took the polling unit at Ward 5 Unit 4 Wesley Nursery and Primary School, Iperu, Ikenne, winning 197 votes, while the APM polled 75 votes. The PDP polled six votes and ADC 2 votes. Prince Dapo Abiodun also held firm in most parts of Remo , Egbaland and Ado Odo.
He also did well in Yewaland although Adekunle Akinlade of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) seemed to have an edge there, being an indigene. In Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC established a strong lead ahead of his closest rival, Jimi Agbaje of the PDP with the majority of the votes cast in such areas as Ikorodu, Alimoso, Badagry and Lagos Island.
According to The Nation, Sanwo-Olu was the preferred candidate at Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s polling unit in Victoria Garden City, Lekki.
The ruling party lost to the PDP by a wide margin during the presidential election two weeks ago. At PU 007, Anglican Primary School, Iworo, Badagry LGA the APC candidate got 207 while the PDP received 74 votes. In Kwara, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of the APC appeared to have confirmed the uprooting of the PDP in Kwara State with another emphatic win.
AbdulRazaq won his polling unit at Idigba, Adewole ward with 592 votes as against PDP’s 80. He also got 201 votes at Ode Oba Onilu, Ilorin as against the 52 for PDP. At press time, there was a wide gap between his votes and what the PDP candidate Razaq Atunwa had garnered.
It was also clear that Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State had won in most of the polling centres where INEC returning officers had announced results. Bagudu got 572 votes against the 7 received by Sen. Isa Galaudu of PDP at Iyan Gwandu polling unit 012, Marafa ward. In Nasarawa 2 polling units 002, Bagudu got 526 votes and Galaudi 98. At polling unit 008 at GRA Kindi Zauro, Nasarawa ward in Birnin Kebbi, Bagudu scored 354 while Galaudi, scored 87.
In Garkar Mai-Alelu polling unit 006, where the governor cast his vote, the APC received 745 votes against 23 garnered by the PDP. The trend was similar in Sokoto and Bauchi State. Official results from polling stations in Adamawa, Enugu, Delta, Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom gave it to the PDP candidates.
The PDP won the governorship election in former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s polling Unit 012 of Ajiya Ward of Adamawa North Local Government Area. Announcing the results at the unit, the presiding officer declared that the APC polled 99 votes while the PDP scored 161 votes. The ADC candidate scored 51 votes while the SDP candidate got only one vote.
Similarly, the PDP trounced the ruling APC with a 50 votes margin at the polling unit in front of Adamawa State deputy governor’s office According to the announced results, APC scored 63 votes, while PDP got 113 votes.
The ADC got 78 votes. In the presidential elections of February 23, APC celebrated a victory over PDP at the same polling unit with 187 votes against 167 votes. As it was during last month’s presidential and national assembly elections, many top politicians failed to deliver even their polling units.
President Muhammadu Buhari delivered his Unit 003 s in Sarkin Yara A Ward in Daura Local Government Area of the State for the APC governorship candidate Aminu Masari, with 370 votes. Senator Yakubu Lado-Danmarke of the PPD polled 42 votes. Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State lost his polling unit to the PDP in the gubernatorial election.
The All Progressives Congress candidate, Adebayo Adelabu, scored 112 votes while the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Seyi Makinde, scored 145 votes. A former Oyo State governor, Rasheed Ladoja won the governorship election in Polling Unit 13, Ward 10, Ibadan North Local Government Area for the PDP with 180 votes while APC received 34 votes.