By Fatima Zahra Muhammad
ASHENEWS reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mohammed Umar Bago as the winner of the March 18 governorship election in Niger State.
The INEC returning officer in Niger State, Prof. Clement Alawa, while announcing the result on Monday said that Bago scored 469,896 votes to clinch the position.
He said that the APC defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which got 387,476 votes.
He said “I Prof. Clement Alawa declare that Mohammed Umaru Bago of the APC having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared winner and returned elected,”
Prof. Alawa stated that the Labour Party’s candidate, Joshua Bawa came third with 3,415 votes, the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) Ibrahim Yahaya Muhammad got 3,378 votes while the only female candidate in the race, Khadijat Abdullahi Iya followed with 1,746 votes.
The state REC noted that a total of 889,956 votes were cast by electorates in the state during the governorship election out of which 899,488 were accredited.
With 16,936 votes rendered invalid, the INEC said that a total of 873,020 were counted as valid.
ASHENEWS further reports that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not sign the results at the end of the exercise as requested by the INEC.
However, all the other parties signed the documents at the venue.
