The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) collation of results for the 2023 gubernatorial election ends today, March 21, 2023.
Here is a summary of how the top parties won, the incumbent governors that have been re-elected into power, and the parties that still control off-cycle election states:
Editorial Note: There has been a suspension of result collation in Enugu and Abia states. This is due to a call to review results in 2 Enugu LGAs and an attack on voters and INEC officials in Obingwa LG of Abia State.
The Kebbi governorship election is declared inconclusive by INEC due to overvoting in 20 out of 21 LGs.
Adamawa governorship election has also been declared inconclusive by INEC. It is expected that there’d be a rerun election.
Which party led the race?
Apart from the four states where INEC suspended collation, Governors have been declared across the remaining 24 states. The All Progressives Congress won 15 states, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won eight states and the New Nigeria Party (NNPP) with one state (Kano).
Which states had their incumbent governors reelected?
Eleven incumbent governors ran for re-election in Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Oyo, Yobe and Zamfara. However, only six states had their incumbent governors re-elected into power. They are:
Oyo State – Seyi Makinde
Seyi Makinde, the incumbent governor and PDP candidate in Oyo state, has been declared the winner of the 2023 gubernatorial race with 563,756 votes.
Lagos State – Babajide Sanwo-Olu
Sanwo-Olu, the incumbent governor and APC candidate in Lagos state, has been reelected governor in Nigeria’s commercial capital with 762,134 votes, thereby beating his rival, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party. This was amidst allegations of voter suppression.
Ogun State – Dapo Abiodun
Incumbent governor and APC candidate of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, won his re-election with 276,298 votes to emerge the winner of the keenly contested election. Ladi Adebutu of the PDP came second with 262,383 votes.
Kwara State – Abdulrasaq Abdulrahman
APC’s Abdulrahman got the majority vote in Kwara with 273,424 votes. This helped him beat his PDP rival, Abdullahi Shuaibu Yaman, who had 155,490 votes.
Yobe State – Mai Mala Buni
Mai Mala Buni has been re-elected Governor of Yobe State, winning in all 17 local government areas of the state with a total of 317,113 votes.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Sharif Abdulahi, came a distant second with a total score of 104,259.
Nasarawa State – Abdullahi Sule
Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) acquired 347,209 votes to beat his closest contender, David Ombugadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who got 283,016 votes.
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How many off-cycle election states does each party rule?
Only 28 states participated in the 2023 governorship elections. The remaining eight states (Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Osun, and Ondo) will hold theirs later. This is due to a different election cycle usually caused by litigations.
However, this means that certain states will maintain their party strongholds. Let’s see how many states each major political party in Nigeria still has:
All Progressives Congress (APC) (4)
The APC holds power in these off-cycle states – Ekiti, Imo, Kogi and Ondo.
This means that Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Hope Uzodinma (Imo), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), and Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo) would all get to keep their seats as governors — in the meantime.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) (3)
Bayelsa, Edo and Osun are under the PDP and will not hold elections. Douye Diri, Godwin Obaseki and Ademola Adeleke, respectively, are still governors of these states.
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) (1)
Only Anambra State under the All Progressives Grand Alliance would not hold elections. Anambra is also the only state in Nigeria that the party controls. Charles Soludo remains governor of Anambra State.
How many states do the parties control overall?
If one adds up the states won from elections to the states a party still rules due to off-cycle polls, here are the results:
The All Progressives Congress (APC) now controls 19 states in Nigeria.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has a stronghold in 11 states.
The New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) now rules Kano State, beating the incumbent APC.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) maintains dominance in Anambra state.
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