Gubernatorial Elections: What the results so far released across states are indicating

Key highlights

• Collation of election results is still ongoing.
• In Lagos, Kwara and Oyo States, the incumbent governors are believed to be on their way to victory.
• However, in Enugu, Abia, and Benue States, the ruling party, PDP, is said to be struggling, with LP, APGA and APC, on early leads.

The collation of the results of the 2023 governorship elections held across 28 States on Saturday is still ongoing, even as the supporters of the different gubernatorial candidates anxiously await the final results. There is also a lot of uncertainty, especially for some incumbent governors under the ruling APC.

Checks by Nairametrics showed that the APC and the PDP have candidates in all 28 states for Saturday’s election. And as it appears, they are both struggling to win in some of the states where the Labour Party has candidates.

We will look at this shortly. But first, here is a recap of the governorship candidates across all states.

Voter apathy: According to media reports, voter apathy was observed during the exercise in every state of the federation. The development was attributed to the outcome of the presidential and National Assembly elections held on February 25 which left many voters disappointed following alleged manipulations/electoral fraud. 

Nevertheless, many ardent supporters made it a point of duty to perform their civic duty on Saturday. They did so despite alleged voter suppression in some states like Lagos and Benue.

Electoral violence: The election was peaceful in some states but marred by violence in others. Some of the states where thuggery and shootings took centre stage include Lagos, Delta, Benue, Osun, Niger, Rivers, Bayelsa, Abia, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo, among others.

What the results seem to be indicating: As of the time of filing this report, the outcome of the polls is still too close to call in most of the states.

In Lagos, Kwara, and Oyo states, incumbent governors are expected to win re-election. However, the ruling party, PDP, is said to be struggling in Enugu, Abia, and Benue States, with the Labour Party, APGA, and APC, taking early leads. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State remains doubtful of victory.

• For Ebonyi State, the APC, APGA, and PDP are all in a close call. The two opposition parties, however, are protesting the alleged hijacking of voting materials by Governor David Umahi-led APC administration.
• In Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike is reportedly succeeding in his efforts to appoint a successor, despite protests from the former transport minister Rotimi Amaechi, who claimed that the APC was in a contest with the PDP, INEC, and police. He continued by saying that the nation’s governance was utterly ineffective.
• In Kaduna, victory is still undecided, even as the PDP has accused Governor Nasir El-Rufai of widespread vote buying.