Desmond Elliot re-elects

Elliot emerged winner with 15,357 votes.

Desmond Elliot, Nollywood actor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the Surulere 1 Constituency of the Lagos State House of Assembly, has been declared the winner of the election.

Dr. Bolajoko Dixon-Ogbechi of the University of Lagos, the Returning Officer, made the declaration on Sunday at the Surulere Local Government Collation Centre in Lagos.
A few days to the election, Elliot had been the subject of a controversy on social media after he commissioned a biofil toilet in his area, with numerous Twitter users pillorying him for celebrating a project they considered ordinary.
However Elliot emerged winner with 15,357 votes, while Benjamin Olasunkanmi, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), came second with 3,628 votes.
“That Desmond Olusola Elliot of APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes, is hereby declared winner and is returned elected,” Dixon-Ogbechi said.
Shitta-Bey Oluwarotimi of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) came third with 116 votes; Dawodu Oluwaseyi of Accord Party came fourth with 65 votes, while Makanjuola Olaseni of Youth Party came fifth with 59 votes.
Dixon-Ogbechi said the total number of registered voters in the constituency was 134,939, while accredited voters were 20,340.
Valid votes were 19,357, while the total number of rejected votes was 973.

“The total number of votes cast was 20,330 while the results of six units at Igbaja/Stadium with RA number 06 were cancelled due to over voting. So, the total number of votes cancelled in the affected areas were 4,091,” she said.

INEC receives results of Lagos Gov polls from 10 LGAs

Results of Saturday’s governorship election from 10 out of the 20 local government areas of Lagos have arrived at the state collation centre of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Yaba as at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday.
Prof. Eyintope Ogunbodede, Vice Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University and State Returning Officer for Lagos governorship election, said that results of each local government would be presented by local government collation officers in company of INEC council electoral officers.
He promised to be transparent, describing the process as very crucial and assured that all should be satisfied at the end.
The 10 LGAs whose results have arrived at the state collation centre were: Lagos Island, Somolu, Agege, Kosofe, Epe, Apapa, Ikeja, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos Mainland and Amuwo-Odofin.

Journalists, security officials and observers are among other stakeholders waiting for the commencement of the collation.

Muhammadu Buhari extends lead

President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his lead as votes are being counted in Nigeria's general election, amid allegations of manipulation.

Mr Buhari has won 13 of Nigeria's 36 states, while his rival Atiku Abubakar has taken 11 states and the capital, Abuja.

APC supporters have been celebrating the early results

As results came in, Mr Abubakar's People's Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that there have been irregularities.
Party chair Uche Secondus called the count "incorrect and unacceptable".
He said there had been an "attempt by the government and other agencies to manipulate the result", but did not give any evidence.
After the results from 24 states and the capital had been declared, Mr Buhari had a 1.5 million-vote lead, but the results from the states in the south-east, the PDP heartland, had not yet been announced.

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The EU, US and African Union have all expressed concern about delays and logistical problems with voting on Saturday, but no independent observers have suggested fraud.
Mr Buhari, a member of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party, is seeking re-election but faces a strong challenge from Mr Abubakar.
Each party says the other is working with the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) to influence the vote, which was initially scheduled for 16 February but delayed at the last minute.
Mr Buhari has promised to build on his accomplishments in office so far, while Mr Abubakar, a business tycoon, has accused the president of wasting his term.
Whoever wins in Africa's most populous nation and largest economy faces a range of problems including power shortages, corruption, security threats, and an economic slowdown.

INEC suspends announcement of results in Akpabio’s senatorial district

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended the announcement of results in Akwa Ibom North-West District, where Godswill Akpabio contested for re-election.
An INEC official in the state told PREMIUM TIMES, Sunday night, that Mr Akpabio’s challenger, Chris Ekpenyong of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was leading in the results announced so far before the commission took a decision to suspend further announcement.
“We are having some issues with the election in Essien Udim Local Government Area,” said the official who did not want his name mentioned in this report because he was not authorised to speak on the matter.
“If we accept the results from the local government area, Akpabio’s votes will overshoot that of Chris Ekpenyong.
“There are issues in the results which we are yet to be resolved,” the official said.
Messrs Akpabio and Ekpenyong are yet to speak on the development.

Essien Udim, where Mr Akpabio comes from, is said to be one of the local government areas with a large voter’s population in the state.
The senator in a result released on Saturday by INEC in his own polling unit, Ukana West Ward 2, scored 1, 533 votes, while Mr Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor of the state, scored just four votes.
Mr Akpabio’s party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), before the commencement of the elections, had accused the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Akwa Ibom, Mike Igini, of being partisan in favour of the PDP.
The APC had called for Mr Igini’s re-deployment from the state.
The PDP responded by saying the APC was agitated because the REC refused to be “compromised” by the party.
Mr Igini has a reputation in Nigeria as being an incorruptible electoral officer.
If Mr Akpabio fails to win re-election, it would be a major political upset in the country.

Buhari defeats Atiku in Kwankwanso’s local govt

Announcing the result on Sunday, the INEC collation officer for the presidenital election in the local government, Sani Umar, said the local government has 84,067 registered voters with 40,764 

accredited voters.

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has won the three elections held on Saturday in the Madobi Local Government Area of Kano State.
A former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, is from the local government.
Mr Kwankwaso is the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano and one of the principal officers of the PDP presidential campaign organisation.
He said APC presidential candidate scored 26,110 while that of PDP got 13,113.
The collation officer for the National Assembly elections, Mansur Bindaw, also announced the Senate result.
In the Senate election, APC scored 22,731 while PDP got 15,913.

According to PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how Mr Kwankwaso’s polling unit was won by PDP. Atiku Abubakar of the PDP scored 278 while President Muhammad Buhari of APC got 215 votes in the polling unit.

APC records zero votes at Ekweremadu’s polling unit

The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has convincingly delivered his polling unit to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with the All Progressives Congress (APC) recording zero votes in the presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives elections.

Mr Ekweremadu, who voted at polling unit 003 at Amachala Primary School, Mpu Ward, Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State, polled 490 votes while his main challenger, Juliet Ibekaku-Nwaugwu of the APC, scored zero.
The polling unit, which has a total of 1,287 registered voters, was divided by INEC into polling units 003A and 003B.
At the polling unit 003A where Mr Ekweremadu voted, he scored 265 votes and recorded 225 votes at the polling unit 003B, totalling 490.
In the presidential poll, while Mr Muhammadu Buhari of the APC scored zero, the candidate of the AAC and publisher of Sahara Reporters newspaper, Mr Omoyele Sowore, scored one vote.
PDP’s candidate for the House of Representatives in the constituency, Toby Okechukwu, scored more votes than other candidates at the polling unit including Mr Ekweremadu. Mr Okechukwu scored 492, two votes ahead of the senator.

PREMIUM TIMES reported on Saturday Mr Ekweremadu’s complaints about an alleged shortfall of ballot papers and result sheets in some of the polling units in about two local government areas in the district.
Mr. Ekweremadu, who is seeking re-election into the Senate for the fifth time, had said in spite of the one week extension, lapses were identified in some of the units in his Enugu West Senatorial District.
Shortly, after voting, Mr Ekweremadu told reporters that his contacts across some wards confirmed the lapses, but said he had complained to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He said; “Specifically, I made contacts with Udi Local Government Area and I was told the ballot papers for Senate at Amaupe Ward is yet to arrive and in Uduma Ward 1 and 2, the result sheets are not available. Also in Umuabi ward, they are still looking for result sheets.
“Also in Nnewe Ward 1 and Achunu Ward 3 ballot papers are not complete. But in places where they have started such as this place where I voted it, though they have challenges of card readers initially, you can see now it is very orderly and they have been able to move seamlessly.
“I also learnt that the security situation is still fine and we can only hope that as we move forward it can be sustained,” he added.

Electorate can use any finger to vote – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that electorate can use any finger to cast their votes in the forthcoming general elections.

The commission made the clarification on its official twitter page @inecnigeria on Wednesday.
It said that the ballot paper was not finger sensitive, but advised the electorate not to allow the indelible ink on their fingers cross into another box.

“A voter can use any finger to vote but should ensure that his or her mark is clear and placed inside the box of the political party of his or her choice and does not stray into another box,’’ it said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that there have been unfounded reports alleging INEC of secretly changing the pattern of fingers allowed for thumb printing on the ballot papers, ahead of the elections.

NAN further reports that 73 political parties are partaking in Saturday’s presidential election.