The November 11, 2023 Kogi State Governorship Election concluded with the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Usman Ododo, emerging victorious, as announced by the State Returning Officer, Prof Johnson Urama, who is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics) of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
The declaration came late Sunday night, marking the end of a keenly-contested race.
Ododo secured a significant win with 446,237 votes, surpassing his closest rival, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who garnered 259,052 votes.
Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) trailed with 46,362 votes. The APC candidate dominated over half of the 21 local government areas (LGAs) in Kogi.
As an ex-Auditor General of Local Government in Kogi under Governor Yahaya Bello, Ododo was the governor’s anointed candidate, seeking to succeed in the wake of Bello’s double terms of eight years.
However, the electoral process was not without controversy. Melaye and civil rights groups raised concerns about “filled result sheets” in the Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area, leading to the suspension of the election in nine wards by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
INEC subsequently announced that fresh polls would be conducted in 59 polling units in the affected area on November 18, 2023. The condition for holding these polls is subject to the Returning Officer’s determination of the application of the Margin of Lead Principle.
In his late Sunday declaration, Urama highlighted that the total number of Permanent Voter Cards in the affected polling units was 16,247, which seemed insignificant compared to the substantial lead of about 200,000 votes garnered by the APC candidate ahead of Ajaka.
The rejection of the election outcome by both Ajaka and Melaye stems from their expressed disappointment in INEC and security agencies, whom they accuse of collusion with the ruling APC in Kogi.
The political aftermath of the Kogi State Governorship Election underscores the complex dynamics and contentious issues surrounding the electoral process in the state.
