Just in: INEC declares APC’s Abdullahi Sule winner of Nasarawa guber election

All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Governor Abdullahi Sule, has been declared the winner of the governorship election in Nasarawa State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The declaration was made on Monday by Prof. Ishaya Tanko, INEC State Collation Officer and Returning Officer, at the Nasarawa State Collation Centre in Lafia. Sule won with a total of 347,209 votes, defeating his closest opponent, David Ombugadu, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who got 283,016 votes.

The returning officer said, "Abdullahi Sule of APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes in the election is hereby declared the winner and returned elected." This marks Sule's second consecutive win, having previously won the governorship election in 2019 by polling 327,229 votes to defeat Mr. David Ombugadu of the PDP, who scored 184,281 votes.

The results indicate that the APC won in 11 out of the 13 local government areas of the state. Mr. Labaran Maku of the All Progressives Grand Alliance polled a total of 132,784 votes in the election.

The election, which took place on Saturday, was described as peaceful by the INEC, despite some reported hitches. Voter turnout was said to be impressive, as voters came out en masse to exercise their franchise.

The APC and PDP had both campaigned vigorously for the election, with the APC showcasing its achievements in the state in the last four years, while the PDP promised to do better if elected.

There was a heavy security presence in the state during the election, with the deployment of security operatives to all polling units to maintain law and order. INEC also implemented strict COVID-19 protocols to ensure the safety of voters and election officials.