The wind of change blowing across the country again resonated yesterday
in states that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has governed
since the return of civil rule in 1999.
Results monitored by
LEADERSHIP SUNDAY’s correspondents indicated that Benue, Niger, Jigawa
and Katsina have fallen to the winning streak of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), whose candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, won the March 28
presidential election against the incumbent, President Goodluck
Jonathan of the PDP.
APC also won 65 out of the 109 seats in the Senate and majority seats in the House of Representatives.
In
yesterday’s state houses of assembly and governorship elections, a
similar pattern of the “historic change” was seen in the states hitherto
considered PDP strongholds.
Although final figures are still
being compiled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),
our correspondents reported that the APC was “progressively leading” in
most of the polling units monitored.
In Niger State, the APC
candidate, Abubakar Bello, was jubilant and excited members of the party
were seen celebrating across the state’s 25 local government areas.
In
Benue, the successes of Senators Barnabas Gemade and George Akume in
the National Assembly election also rubbed off on the APC candidate for
the state, Samuel Ortom.
Ortom resigned from the cabinet of
President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the state’s number one job. He
was maintaining a comfortable lead in 18 of the 23 local governments at
press time.
At the Government House polling unit, Ortom scored 145 votes to beat his PDP opponent, Terhemen Tarzoor, who polled 119 votes.
Also at Annunne Market Square Polling Unit in Tarka local government area, the APC polled 324 votes to PDP’s 14 votes.
However,
Tarzoor is said to have polled a total of 152 votes at the Ankpa Ward
Polling Unit, an area where he grew up, to Ortom’s 150 votes.
Contrary
to expectations that PDP’s Jimi Agbaje backed by the non-natives of
Lagos State will replace Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, the
APC candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode is conveniently coasting home to
victory.
Results from the polling units indicated that Agbaje
scored higher in Igbo-dominated communities like Amuwo Odofin and
Oshodi/Isolo, but he lost by win margins in most polling units of Lagos
East Senatorial District and Alimosho which have the largest populations
in the state. Ambode was said to be in firm control of at least 15 of
the 20 local government areas of the state.
Plateau also surprisingly favoured APC from the unit-by-unit analysis.
In
Imo State, Governor Rochas Okorocha also cast off the state-sponsored
rigging of the presidential election against his party, the APC, in the
state to launch into an early lead, ahead of closest rivals, Emeka
Ihedioha (PDP) and Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho (APGA).
Also, Kaduna
State, which had been ruled by PDP for 16 years, had Malam Nasir
el-Rufai of the APC ahead of the incumbent governor, Mukhtar Yero, who
hinted that things might not work his way.
Shortly after
accreditation in Zaria, yesterday, Yero told his supporters and the
entire people of state to accept the outcome of the election, whichever
way it went.
Similarly, in Katsina, former speaker, House of
Representatives and candidate of the APC, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari
appeared to cut short the winning streak of the PDP in the state since
1999.
President-elect Buhari was in Katsina on Thursday to attend
the final rally for APC’s governorship and state House of Assembly
candidates in Saturday’s elections, and he pleaded with the people of
his home state to vote for his party’s candidates.
Jigawa has
also returned to the APC fold with results indicating that a majority of
the House of Assembly seats as well as that of the governor went to
APC. The state was governed by the All Nigeria People Party (ANPP)
before the PDP took it over in 2007.
A similar situation is
also playing out in Kebbi State as the APC governorship candidate,
Senator Atiku Bagudu, is coasting home to victory and leading the PDP
candidate Gen Sarkin Yaki Bello, in most of the local government areas
of the state.
http://leadership.ng/news/425022/apc-consolidates-position-as-ruling-party
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