INEC Declares Kebbi Gubernatorial Election Inconclusive, Triggers Runoff Race

The results of the Kebbi State governorship election have been deemed inconclusive.

The Collation Officer, Prof. Yusuf Saidu, of Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, made the announcement of the results yesterday at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital. He stated that the total number of cancelled votes was greater than the number of valid votes, while the number of registered voters was 2,032,041 and the number of accredited voters was 766,367.

Dr. Nasir Idris, the governorship candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC), received 388,358 votes, while Mohammed Bande, the candidate for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), received 342,980 votes, bringing the total number of valid votes to 742, 234.

Prof. Saidu stated that 18, 204 votes were rejected, 760,438 votes were cast, and 91,829 Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) were cancelled—more than the number of voters.

He stated, ” The difference was 41,580, and there were more over- and cancelled votes than there were votes cast. I declared the outcome of this governorship election to be inconclusive in accordance with the Electoral Act of 2022.

Jega, Gwandu, Koko Besse, Kalgo, Dandi, Maiyama, and Sakaba are the councils that would see rerun elections in some polling units.

Despite this, Katsina State’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the results of Saturday’s governorship election, which saw Dr. Dikko Radda of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) emerge victorious.

After receiving 859,892 votes, Radda, the former head of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), defeated 12 other contestants.

His closest rival, Yakubu Lado, of the PDP, received 486,662 votes, while the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), which received 8,263 votes, finished in second place.

Yesterday, Dr. Mustapha Inuwa, Director General of the Atiku/Lado Campaign Organization, told journalists that the party regretted the outcome of the election and would go to court to reclaim their mandate.

According to Inuwa, the poll was marked by “intimidation of voters and monetary inducement,” as well as ballot box snatching and the destruction of ballot papers.

Additionally, following the announcement of the competitor of the New Nigerian People groups Party (NNPP), Abba Kabir Yusuf, the victor of Saturday’s governorship political race in Kano Express, the All Reformists Congress (APC) in the state hosts said the gathering is cautiously examining the political decision cycle and assemblage of results in the equitable closed governorship political race. The APC said that it would announce its position at a later time in a statement that was signed by Muhammad Garba, the State Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs.