The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the March 18 governorship election in Adamawa State inconclusive.
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Senator Aishatu Dahiru famously known as Binani scored 390, 275 while the incumbent, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, polled 421,524.
However, INEC state collation officer, Prof Muhammadu Mele of the University of Maiduguri declared the election inconclusive due to the margin of votes.
He said, “Elections were not held in 47 wards, affecting 69 polling units. So, this gives us a margin of 31,249. The total number of PVCs collected in places where elections were not held amounted to 37,016.”
Mele said “based on these findings and analysis as stated in the electoral laws” where the margin between two candidates is lesser than the total number of collected PVCs in areas where elections were not held, the election is declared inconclusive.
So far, the results of 20 governorship polls have been announced. The APC takes the lead with 14 states, the PDP with five states and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) with one state. The election in Kebbi was similarly declared inconclusive by the electoral body while the collation of the results of governorship polls in Abia and Enugu was suspended.
Officially, nine of the 11 governors who sought reelection in the March 18 polls held across Nigeria in West Africa have been declared winners by INEC to return to office for another four-year term each.
They are Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State.
Of the 28 states, 11 serving governors sought reelection while 17 outgoing governors are in the final weeks of their constitutional two-term limits of eight years, having been sworn in on May 29, 2015.