The Kingsman of the Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and former Auditor General of local government in the state, Alhaji Usman Ahmed Ododo on Saturday morning, picked the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and has been declared the winner of the governorship primary election.
Ododo is an Igbira man just as the present governor Yahaya Bello and their tribe waited for decades before finally having one of their own to occupy the government house because of their population.
As it stands now, the incumbent Governor Yahaya Bello may not want a power shift from their area to the Kogi West, an area the stakeholders agreed should produce the next governor.
But the voting population is in Kogi East, the Igala speaking people who also have the large population of the state.
But the APC primary election which was conducted via direct mode, took place in the 239 wards across the 21 local government areas of the state.
External observers , party members and supporters who spoke with our reporter, described the conduct of the primary election as one of the most peaceful, rancour free in the history of Kogi state.
Ododo pulled seventy eight thousand , seven hundred and four (78, 704) votes to defeat the other four contestants.
Announcing the outcome of the primaries at the State Secretariat of APC on Saturday morning, the Secretary of the National APC governorship primary election committee, Hon. Patrick Obahiaghon said total number of registered voters was 93,729 while 83,419 was numbersl of accredited voters.
He said Shaibu Abubakar Audu scored 763 votes, Stephen Ikani Ocheni a former minister of state pulled 552 votes, the former Executive Director Rural Electrification Agency (REA) Dr Sanusi Ohiare scored 424 votes while Smart Adeyemi the current Senator representing Kogi west has the least score of 311 votes.
Speaking further, the Secretary of the committee said Abubakar Yahaya Achimugu pulled 1,159 votes, Salami Momodu Ozigi scored 1,506 votes and Ahmed Usman Ododo pulled the highest votes of 78,704.
Declaring Ododo the winner of the election, Hon Patrick Obahiaghon said the election was conducted in the 21 local government areas of the state and the result have been collated peacefully from all the returning officers in charge of the election.
“By the power conferred on the committee by virtue of article 19 of the APC guidelines for the nomination of candidate for general election 2003, I Hon Patrick Obahiaghon Secretary of election committee Kogi state on behalf of the Chairman of the committee Governor Bello Matawale of Zamfara state hereby declared that Ahmed Usman Ododo having scored the majority of lawful votes cast at the direct primary election conducted on the 14th day of April , 2023 in Kogi state is hereby declared as winner of the APC Kogi state primary election.
“He (Ahmed Usman Ododo) hereby returns as the duly elected governorship candidate of APC for the November 2023 governorship election,” he said.
