APC wins by landslide as opposition boycott Nasarawa council poll

The Nasarawa State Independent Electoral Commission (NASIEC) has declared candidates of All Progressive Congress (APC) as winners of Saturday’s local government election.

Henry Omaku, chairman of the electoral body, announced the results of the poll on Sunday at the commission’s headquarters in Lafia.

He said three political parties; All Progressive Congress (APC), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Advanced Democratic Party (ADP) fielded candidates for the chairmanship election held across the 13 local government areas, while 21 political parties contested for the 147 councillorship positions in the state, with the APC winning all.

According to Omaku, the APC chairmanship candidate for Awe local government, Umar Abubakar, polled 56, 598 votes to emerge winner, with Samuel Meshi emerging victorious for Akwanga local government having polled 50, 149 votes.

Other winners include Mohammed Iyimoga for Obi local government polling 88, 019 votes, Idris Danlami for Nasarawa Eggon with 79, 789 votes and Mohammed Sani scoring 98, 515 votes to win chairmanship seat for Nasarawa local government area.

Also elected were Aminu Maitafa for Lafia local government with 172, 717 votes, Saidu Kazi for Kokona with 69, 043 votes and Adamu Giza for Keana with 13, 658 votes garnered at the polls.

Abubakar Abass emerged victorious in Wamba local government with 27, 108 votes, Rabo Sani got 77, 003 votes to clinch the chairmanship for Doma, while Samuel Akala and Abdulrahman Sani polled 80, 934 and 14, 817 to emerge winners for Karu and Keffi local government areas respectively.

Omaku noted that although the election witnessed low voters’ turnout, it was smooth and rancour-free.

He explained that the restriction of movement could not be implemented during the election because of the ongoing Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination. (UTME).

Omaku thanked security operatives, political parties and observers for their contribution towards the peaceful conduct of the elections.

He advised political parties against boycotting subsequent elections in the state as doing so was capable of denying the people quality leadership at the local level.

The opposition parties in Nasarawa state including the PDP and APGA had boycotted the election, citing lack of confidence in the electoral body.

The opposition parties had alleged that the chairman of NASIEC, Omakwu, is a card-carrying member of the APC, therefore, not qualified to head the commission.