Know Your Governors-elect!

Below are the faces of some of the governors-elect across the federation. Just so you know them, reports Olaseni Durojaiye

Abia State: Okezie Ikpeazu

Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Okezie Ikpeazu retains his seat. The incumbent governor scored 261,127 votes to coast home ahead of other candidates, including Uche Ogah of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 99,127 and their counterpart in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Alex Otti, who scored 64, 366 votes to come third in the election. However, time and the courts will tell what becomes of the rejection of the results by Ugah and Otti.

Adamawa State: Inconclusive

The governorship election in Adamawa state did not produce a clear winner. The APC candidate and incumbent governor of the state, Mohammed Bindow scored a total of 334,995 votes while his arch challenger and candidate of the PDP, Umar Fintiri scored 367,471. However, because the margin of lead was less than total number of votes in the 44 polling units, where results were cancelled which is 40,988, the election was declared inconclusive. INEC has since announced that supplementary elections would hold in the affected 44 polling units for a clear winner to emerge.

Bauchi State: Inconclusive
In Bauchi State governorship election, Governor Mohammed Abubakar of APC scored 465,453 and Senator Bala Mohammed of PDP, a former FCT Minister, scored 469,512 votes. According to the Returning Officer, Prof Mohammed Kyari who is the Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Adamawa, the difference between the two, 4,059 was not up to the number of votes in polling units where elections didn’t hold including Tafawa Balewa Local Government area with 130,240 registered voters. The supplementary election will now hold on March 23.

Akwa Ibom State: Udom Emmanuel

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State will continue as the state’s Chief Executive for a second term in office. Emmanuel scored 519,712 votes. His closest challenger was the candidate of the APC, Nsima Ekere, who scored 171, 978 to come a distant second. By the feat, Emmanuel has demystified his estranged god father and immediate past governor of the state, Godswill Akpabio, who is now with the APC.

Benue State: Inconclusive
The governorship election in Benue State did not produce a clear winner and so, the electorate in the state will wait for the outcome of the concluding election to know their new governor. The governorship candidate of the PDP in the state, incumbent Governor Samuel Ortom scored 410,586 votes and the APC candidate, Emmanuel Jime scored 329,022 votes. But the total cancelled votes was 122,019, and on account of that, the number of cancelled votes is more than the victory margin between the PDP and APC candidates, thus the election was declared inconclusive and supplementary election scheduled for March 23.

Borno State: Babagana Umara Zulum

The candidate of the APC, Prof. Babagana Umara Zullum will become the face of Borno State from May 29, when he succeeds his mentor, outgoing Governor Kashim Shettima. Zullum, who heads the Ministry of Reconstruction in the state, secured 1,175,440 votes to beat the candidate of the PDP, Mohammed Imam, who scored 66,115.

Cross Rivers: Ben Ayade

Incumbent Governor of Cross River State and candidate of the PDP, Prof. Ben Ayade will remain in charge in the state. He brushed aside all opposition on his way to staying put at the Government House with a vote haul of 381,484 votes to defeat the APC candidate, John Enoh, who scored 131,161 votes.

Delta State: Ifeanyi Okowa

Delta State Governor and candidate of the PDP, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa is back in office for another four years. His re-election was declared by the INEC state Collation Officer cum Retuning Officer for the election, Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Otuoke, Prof. Seth Accra Jaja. Okowa scored 925,274 votes to defeat his main challenger, Great Ogboru of the APC, who scored 215, 938 votes.

Ebonyi State: Dave Umahi

Governor Dave Umahi of the PDP retains his seat. He bested a familiar foe and candidate of the APC, Sonni Ugbuoji, whom he defeated in 2015 to secure a first term in office. While Umahi, who is also the Chairman, South-east Governors’ Forum garnered 393,043 votes to emerge winner, Ugbuoji scored 81,703 votes. As things eventually panned out, Umahi will be content that he was not picked as the running mate of his party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as this means he is employed till 2023.

Gombe State: Inuwa Yahaya

Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya is the governor elect of Gombe State. Running on the platform of the APC, he scored 364,179 votes to defeat the PDP candidate, Usman Nafada, who polled 222,868 votes. The Returning Officer of the state, who is also the Vice Chancellor of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi Prof. Saminu Abdulrahma declared him the winner of the governorship election.

Imo State: Emeka Ihedioha

A former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha will govern Imo State for the next four years. He polled 273,404 to defeat the candidate of the Action Alliance (AA), Uche Nwosu, who polled a total of 190,364. Nwosu is the son in-law of outgoing governor of the state, Rochas Okorocha, who is also his main promoter. Other candidates in the governorship election included the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Ifeanyi Ararume and Senator Hope Uzondima of the All Progressives Congress (APC). They polled 114, 676 and 96,458 votes respectively.

Jigawa State: Mohammed Badaru

Alhaji Mohammed Badaru of the APC will continue in office for another four years, having been declared winner of the March 9 governorship election of the North-west state. Badaru polled 810,933 votes to defeat candidate of the PDP, Aminu Ringim, who scored 288,356 votes. Badaru thus has the opportunity to continue with his agenda for the state.

Kano State: Inconclusive
The Kano State governorship election is arguably the most keenly contested. The PDP candidate in Kano State, Abba Yusuf scored 1,014, 747 to edge past his APC counterpart and incumbent governor, Umar Ganduje, who scored 987,819. The election was however declared inconclusive.
The Returning Officer for the state however declared the election inconclusive, because according to him, “The total number of registered voters is 5,426,989, accredited voters 2,211,528, out of this number, the ruling APC scored 987,819, while the main opposition PDP scored 1,014,474. The margin of victory is 26,655, this makes it impossible to make a return and declare a winner.”

Kebbi State: Atiku Bagudu

Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State has won his re-election to preside over the affairs of the state for another four years. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Bagudu, who sought re-election on the platform of the APC winner of the governorship election in the state. He polled 673,717 votes to defeat the candidate of the PDP, Isah Galaudu, who won 106, 633 votes.
Resident of the state could look forward to a consolidation of a first tenure in office regarded as very impactful on account of the many developmental feats recorded by Bagudu, who is a former House of Representatives member.

Katsina State: Aminu Masari

Alhaji Aminu Masari of the APC will continue to hold sway at the Katsina State House. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives won his re-election with a landslide over the candidate of the PDP. While Masari scored an overwhelming 1,178,886 votes, Yakubu Lado-Danmarke of the PDP scored 488,621.

Kwara State: Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq

The APC candidate in Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq will replace the incumbent come May 29, 2019. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared APC standard bearer in the March 9, governorship election winner with a vote haul of 331,546 as against his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Abdulrasaq Atunwa, who polled 114,714 votes.
Abdulrahman faces a daunting challenge of meeting the expectations of the people of the state, particularly that of the promoters and supporters of the Oto ge Movement, who rooted for him in the elections.

Lagos State: Babajide Sanwo-Olu

Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu was declared winner of the Lagos governorship poll, having polled 739,445 votes to defeat his closest rival, and candidate of the PDP, Jimi Agbaje, who polled 206,141 votes. The election was a case of coronation given that the APC has always had the state under its firm grip since the return of the fourth republic in 1999.
More so, he had the backing of the two most influential political groupings in the state, Mandate and Justice Forum, particularly that of APC National Leader, Bola Tinubu. Sanwo-Olu is expected to hit the ground running on account of his understanding of governance in the state since he’s always been part of the state government as far back as 2003.

Nassarawa State: Abdullahi Sule

Abdullahi Sule of the APC will continue from where outgoing governor of the state, Tanko Al-Makura will sign off. He was declared the governor-elect of the state after he garnered 327,229 votes to defeat candidate of the opposition PDP, David Ombugadu, who scored 184,281 votes.

Niger State: Abubakar Bello

The Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, who contested for a second term on the platform of the APC will be in the saddle for another four years. He polled 526,412 votes to defeat Umar Nasko of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 228, 347 votes.

Ogun State: Dapo Abiodun

Mr. Dapo Abiodun of the APC defeated the candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), Adekunle Akinlade to win the keenly contested election. While Abiodun garnered 241, 670 votes, Akinlade of the APM scored 222,153 votes.
Abiodun, who is an oil and gas magnate, had to fend off so many battles from both within and outside of his party to get into office. Although with the margin of lead being smaller to the cancelled votes, many had expected an inconclusive verdict, he is however expected to bring his wealth of experience from the private sector to bear on the governance of the state.

Oyo State: Seyi Makinde

The PDP candidate and governor-elect of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde won 28 out of the 33 local governments in the state with 515,621 votes to defeat the candidate of the APC, Adebayo Adelabu, who scored 357,982 votes. Makinde was second time lucky as he tried his luck in 2015, when he contested on the platform of the same PDP but failed to get the party’s ticket at the time.
Pundits averred that some of the factors that caused Makinde’s victory at the polls include the incumbent Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s declining popularity with a wide section of the people of Ibadan land. Ajimobi, against huge public outcries had elevated some titled chiefs to the status of Oba, an action that drew condemnation from the Olubadan of Ibadan.

Plateau State: Inconclusive
In Plateau State, Governor Solomon Lalong holds a fragile lead with 583,255 votes over his PDP opponent, Jerry Useni who polled 538,326. However, the election was declared inconclusive given that the margin of lead was 44,929 while the total number of cancelled votes stood at 49,377. The supplementary election has been slated for March 23.

Rivers State: Suspended!
The 2019 governorship election in Rivers State was suspended due to widespread violence, alleged complicity on the part of parties in the election and military involvement in the election. Thus, no winner or preliminary results were declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Elections in the state have always been fraught with violence, accusations and counter-accusation particularly between the PDP and APC since 2015, the latest however followed in the same pattern. Observers are of the view that there is the need to find a lasting solution to the spectre of violence and killings that has come to characterise elections in the state.

Sokoto State: Inconclusive
A clear winner failed to emerged between sitting governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal of the PDP, who scored 486,145 and his erstwhile deputy, Ahmed Aliyu of the APC, who polled 489, 538. In the election, a total of 1,033,081 voters were accredited. But 987, 942 votes were recorded as valid while 30,062 votes were cancelled.

The scenario thus led the Returning Officer, Prof. Fatima Muktar, who is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Dutse, to declare that, “Due to cancellation in 22 local government areas across 136 polling units with a total of 73,403 cancelled votes, I cannot conclude this exercise and INEC will have to take a decision on this.” INEC has since fixed a supplementary poll in the affected areas for March 23.

Taraba State: Darius Ishaku
Darius Ishaku of Taraba State remains the Governor of Taraba State for the next four years. The Returning Officer, Prof. Shehu Iya of the Federal University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State, declared him winner. He secured 520,433 votes to defeat Alhaji Sanni Abubakar of the APC, who scored 362,735 and the candidate of the United Democratic Party (UDP) Senator Aisha Alhassan, who polled 16,289 votes to come third.

Yobe State: Mai Bala Buni

Former National Secretary of the APC and the party’s candidate in the March 9 governorship election in Yobe State, Mai Bala Buni is the new Sherriff in Yobe State. Buni scored 444,013 votes to defeat the candidate of the PDP, Umar Iliya Damagum, who scored 95, 703 votes.

Zamfara State: Muktar Idris

Candidate of the ruling APC, Muktar Idris, will take over from his mentor and incumbent governor of the State, Abdulaziz Yari. He was declared winner of the governorship election in the state with a vote haul of 534,541 votes while his challenger, Bello Matawale of the PDP secured 189,452 votes.
Idris, a-45-year old graduate of economics from the Bayero University Kano is arguably the youngest of the governors-elect. All eyes will be on him to see how well he represents the push for youths to assume leadership positions in the country.

Enugu State: Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi

Incumbent Governor of Enugu State and candidate of the PDP, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has returned to office for another four years. His election was affirmed by INEC. He scored 449,935 votes to defeat his closest rival and candidate of the APC, Ayogu Eze, who scored 10,423 votes. Eze announced a boycott of the election after INEC refused his request for the postponement of the election. Ugwuanyi, who is a former member of the House of Representatives between 2007 and 2011, will now continue in office as governor. Enugu is one state that has since been marked impenetrable.

Kaduna State: Nasir el-Rufai

Controversial governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai of the APC will continue to administer the North-west state. He won the re-election with a massive 1,045,427 votes to defeat the candidate of the PDP, Hon. Isa Ashiru, who scored 814, 168 votes.