The results of run-off governorship elections conducted yesterday have begun to trickle in as Messrs Solomon Lalong and Aminu Tambuawal have been declared winners in Plateau and Sokoto states respectively.

Lalong, incumbent governor of the state and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), got 595,582 votes to win his People’s Democratic Party (PDP) opponent, Gen. Jeremiah Useni who polled 546,813 votes.

The margin of victory is 48,769 votes.

INEC’s returning officer, Prof. Richard Kimbir, who presented the results on Sunday in Jos said: “The valid votes totalled 1,159,954, with the rejected votes standing at 16,188, while the total votes cast was 1, 176, 142,” he said.

It would be recalled that the governorship election held on March 9 in Plateau was declared inconclusive.

That led to a rerun in 40 polling units in nine local government areas of the state.

In Sokoto State, Tambuwal of the PDP beat his APC rival, Mr. Ahmad Aliyu with a slim margin of 342 votes.

According to INEC, the incumbent governor polled a total of 512,002 votes while Aliyu got 511,660 votes.

In Bauch State, the governorship candidate of the PDP, Mr. Bala Mohammed was in clear lead at the end of collation of the supplementary election results.

The supplementary polls were held in 36 polling units in 29 wards across 15 local government areas of the state.

Punch reports that results from the 15 local government areas as presented by the local government returning officers and also declared by the state returning officer, Prof. Kyari Mohammed, showed that Mohammed got 6,376 votes.

His opponent who is the incumbent governor and candidate of the APC, Mr. Mohammed Abubabakar, got 5,117 votes.

According to the results, Mohammed led Abubabakar with 1,259 votes to emerge the winner.

Before Prof. Mohammed declared the result of the March 9 governorship election in the state as inconclusive on March 11, the PDP candidate led the incumbent governor by 4,059 votes.

According to the returning officer, Mohammed got 469,512 votes while Abubakar got 465,453 votes.

The returning officer had earlier cancelled the entire votes of Tafawa Balewa local government area which has 139,240 registered voters.

“As you well know, I cannot make a return because I understand that the case of Tafawa Balewa local government area is in court.”

The Federal High Court Abuja will deliver a final judgment on the results of Tafawa Balewa tomorrow, Monday.

In Benue State, the incumbent governor and candidate of the PDP, Dr. Samuel Ortom was leading his APC opponent, Mr. Emmanuel Jime.

According to the supplementary election results from some polling units in 22 local government areas of the state released piecemeal on Sunday, Ortom was leading with 7,774.votes.

Ortom had during the governorship election on March 9, led Jime with 81,554 votes.

NewsGazett