Kogi gov: Melaye kicks as INEC declares Ododo/APC winner

Kogi gov: Melaye kicks as INEC declares Ododoo/APC winner

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Usman Ododo, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Kogi State governorship election.
Ododo received 446, 237 votes to defeat Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who came second with 259,052 votes. Dino Melaye, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), scored 46,362 votes.
INEC Returning Officer for Kogi, Johnson Urama, announced Ododo as the winner at 10:23 p.m. on Sunday.

But Melaye rejected the results and called for the cancellation of the poll results due to the “irregularities that marred the election.”

He spoke at a press conference on Sunday in Lokoja, saying the irregularities that marred the poll were unprecedented.

Melaye said, “Yesterday in the five local governments of Central Senatorial District in Kogi State, there was no election. In the end, surprisingly, accreditation was done manually. The BVAS was not used. Prepared sheets manifested even before accreditation and evidence is all over the media.”

Before the final results were announced, the APC said its candidate was “coasting to spectacular victory”.
In a statement, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, urged INEC to protect the votes of the electorate in the state.
Morka said the “announced and uploaded results, so far, show Ododo maintaining a landslide lead in Kogi west and central, with a competitive showing in Kogi East”.