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#NigeriaDecides2023: 28 State Governors, 993 Lawmakers To Be Elected Today

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Today, voters in Nigeria are casting their ballots for the governorship and state houses of assembly elections.

In addition to these elections, two others are also taking place in the Esan Central/Esan West/Igueben Federal Constituency election which was previously halted during the 25 February Presidential and National Assembly polls due to the omission of the Labour Party logo.

The Enugu East Senatorial District election was also postponed following the killing of the party’s candidate, Oyibo Chukwu, on 22 February.

The second phase of the 2023 General Elections, which was originally planned for March 11, was postponed for one week following a Court of Appeal order granting the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) permission to reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for the exercise.

The delay came after some political parties challenged the results of the presidential poll and were granted an ex-parte order by the court to inspect the materials used for the election.

In contrast to the previous month’s elections which took place in 470 constituencies covering 109 senatorial districts, 360 federal constituencies, and one presidential district, the current election will be conducted in 1,021 state constituencies.

This includes 28 governorship seats and 993 assembly seats. The governorship elections will be held in 28 of the 36 states of the federation.

Elections will not take place in  Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo, and Osun state. This is because these states hold off-cycle polls at different times, and their electoral calendars have been altered due to judicial rulings.

It’s worth noting that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has already scheduled elections in Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo for November.

Additionally, the election will not take place in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Abuja, as it has neither a governor nor an assembly. Instead, the territory is administered by the federal government through a ministry and is represented in the National Assembly by a senator and two members in the House of Representatives.

All 18 registered political parties are participating in the upcoming election, with over 400 governorship candidates fielded across 28 states.

The states with the highest number of candidates are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, and Taraba, with 18 candidates each. Following closely behind are Delta, Enugu, Kano, Rivers, and Sokoto, with 17 candidates each. On the other hand, Cross River and Yobe have the lowest number of candidates with only 11 each.

The governorship candidates participating in the election were chosen through primary elections held by their respective parties last year, and the court also confirmed or replaced disputed candidates following legal challenges to their primaries.

Uche Ikonne, the PDP candidate in Abia, passed away in January and was subsequently replaced.

However, some of the candidates running for governor are seeking their second and final term of four years in office.

In total, there are 11 states where incumbent governors are seeking re-election, namely Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Oyo, Yobe, and Zamfara.

In addition to the 11 states where incumbent governors are seeking re-election, the governors of the other 17 states will be completing their tenures on 29 May.

As a result, new governors must emerge from the current election, and these states include Abia, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, and Taraba.

Assuming there are no significant issues or legal challenges, the winners of today’s governorship elections, whether they are incumbents or new candidates, will be inaugurated on 29 May.

 

 

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PDP Governors Probe Ondo Polls, Criticizes Edo Result

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the outcome of the Ondo State governorship election, accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of electoral malpractice, including vote-buying and result manipulation.

This was disclosed during a meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum on Saturday in Jos, Plateau State.

READ ALSO: NECO Expands Global Footprints, Accredits Niger, Equatorial Guinea Schools

The forum, chaired by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, criticized the conduct of the election, which saw APC’s Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa secure a landslide victory for another four-year term in Alagbaka, Akure.

“We are still reviewing documents from the Ondo election, where the APC openly bought votes and manipulated results,” Mohammed said.

He urged the judiciary to “save Nigerian democracy” and called on the National Assembly to strengthen electoral laws to prevent what he described as “institutional sabotage of the people’s will.”

The PDP governors also condemned the September governorship election in Edo State, describing it as a “rape of democracy.”

The forum accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of colluding with the APC to declare its candidate the winner despite claims that the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, had secured the majority of lawful votes.

“INEC blatantly manipulated the results in favor of the APC candidate. This undermines the credibility of our electoral process,” Mohammed said.

Beyond electoral grievances, the governors urged the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) to convene a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting by February 2025.

They emphasized the need for broader consultations with stakeholders to resolve the party’s internal leadership crisis and strengthen its position as the main opposition party.

The forum reiterated its commitment to democratic values and vowed to push for electoral reforms that would restore public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.

The Ondo governorship election has sparked a renewed call for transparency in the country’s electoral system, with the PDP vowing to challenge what it views as a subversion of democracy.

 

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Gaetz Withdraws From Trumps Cabinet Nomination 

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Following his observations that ‘the momentum was strong’ Matt Gaetz whom 47th POTUS elect, Donald Trump nominated for Attorney General has withdrawn.

Biztellers reports that this follows his meeting with Senate and the feedback, which included two women, represented by their attorneys, who accused him of having paid for sex.

Consequently, Gaetz placed on record his full commitment to seeing “that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history.”

His withdrawal according his statement on micro-blogging site, X, was based on his conviction that “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle”.

ALSO READ: Trump Taps 27-Year-Old Karoline Leavitt As New White House Spokesperson

In is view, “Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1”.

Gaetz wrote, “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.

“I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”

His backers have promptly encouraged to take his seat in the House of Representatives, having been elected to the house under the flag of the Republicans to represent Florida.

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Adeleke Represents SW On Ad Hoc Committee on Nat’l Electrification Plan

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The Executive Governors from Nigeria’s South West have unanimously nominated Senator Ademola Adeleke as the chairman of the zone on the National Economic Council (NEC).

Adeleke is the Executive Governor of Osun State, southwest, Nigeria.

This, according to the Spokesperson to Governor Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed, transpired on Thursday, at a meeting of the NEC.

ALSO READ: Adeleke Flaunts Local Content Records, Industrialisation Progress

He noted that the meeting reviewed the state of Nigeria’s electricity sector and resolved to engage subnational structures to address current challenges in the sector.

“The meeting particularly sought to build on the devolution of the electricity sector and its movement into the concurrent legislative list which empowers state governments to regulate the sector in their respective areas,” he stated.

Consequently, the NEC, therefore set up an ad hoc committee to review actions in the sector by state governments and explore ways to ramp up activities through coordination, Rasheed highlighted.

The full list of members of NEC’s Ad-hoc Committee on National Electrification:

  1. Governor of Cross Rivers State, Bassey Out – Chairman, South-South
  2. Governor of Katsina State, Mallam Dikko Umaru Radda – Chairman, North-West
  3. Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya – Chairman, North-East
  4. Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke – Chairman, South-West
  5. Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma – Chairman, South-East
  6. Governor of Plateau State, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang – Chairman, North-Central
  7. Hon. Minister of Finance, Wale Edun
  8. Hon. Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu
  9. Special Adviser, NEC and Climate Change, Rukaiya El-Rufai
  10. Special Adviser, Power Minister, Hon. Bolaji Tunji
  11. MD/CEO Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu
  12. MD/CEO Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Jennifer Adighije
  13. Chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazak
  14. NEC Secretariat
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