As Nigerians continue to wait with anxiety over who would be announced as the next president of Nigeria, some political bigwigs are already counting their losses. Some of the casualties of the emerging order, include serving governors, top lawmakers and politicians of clout, who have their ambitions to go to or return to the National Assembly aborted by their opponents.
Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Ben Ayade and Samuel Ortom of Enugu, Cross Rivers and Benue states lead the crop of governors, whose desires to join the elite chamber of the National Assembly crumbled in their states. Ugwuanyi and Ortom are PDP governors, who are also members of the G5- Governors, led by Nyesom Wike of Rivers State. They have opposed their party’s policy of retaining the Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu while the party’s candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar Atiku is from the North also.
Ugwuanyi lost to the Labour Party’s candidate for the district, Okechukwu Ezea in the Enugu North Senatorial District . Ezea polled a total of 104,492 votes to defeat Ugwuanyi who merely garnered 46,948 votes, while Ortom lost to the APC candidate for the North-West senatorial seat, Titus Zam. Zam had 143,151 votes to defeat Ortom who got 106,882 votes.
Zam was a Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to Ortom until the governor defected to PDP in 2018. Zam, a strong disciple of the former governor of the state and Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, George Akume, polled 143,151 votes to defeated Ortom and the Labour Party candidate, Mike Gbillah, who scored 51,950.
In Plateau State, the Governor, Simon Lalong lost his senatorial election. He was defeated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, AVM Bali Nikap Napoleon (rtd), with 148,844 votes.
The governor, who is the Director General of the Bola Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council, trailed behind the PDP candidate with 91,674 votes. The candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Tobias Nda, polled 17,325 votes.
Similarly, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State lost his bid to return to the Senate following his defeat by the incumbent senator representing Cross River North, Senator Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe.
Ayade, who was in the Senate between 2011 and 2015, lost the National Assembly elections conducted with 56,595 votes against Agom-Jarigbe of the Peoples Democratic Party who scored 76,145 votes.
The returning officer, Dr Emmanuel Emanghe, who spoke on behalf of INEC, announced the result of the polls. Agom-Jarigbe, a two-time member of the House of Representatives, was elected into the Senate through a bye-election in September 2021 following the death of Dr Rose Okoh.
Ayade, who is serving out his two-term as Governor of the state, sought to replace Agom-Jarigbe as the Senator representing the Northern senatorial district of Cross River.
In Nasarawa State, Senator Tanko Al-Makura of APC lost his re-election bid to Mohammed Onawo of the PDP. Declaring the result, the Returning Officer, Prof. Ahmed Ashiku, said Onawo got 93,064 votes to defeat Al-Makura who polled 76,813 votes.
Ashiku declared that Onawo, having satisfied the requirement of the law and scored the highest number of votes, was returned elected.
In Anambra State, Senator Stella Oduah of the PDP lost her senatorial election bid. Tony Nwoye of the Labour Party won the Anambra North Senatorial District election by defeating Mrs Ebele Obiano, the wife of the immediate past governor of the state, Chief Willie Obiano.
Senator Oduah, a former aviation minister, lost in all the seven local government areas of Anambra North Senatorial District, namely Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Oyi, Ogbaru, Anambra East, Anambra West and Ayamelum.
In Osun State, the Senate spokesperson and member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Bashiru, currently representing Osun Central in the National Assembly, lost his re-election bid to the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olubiyi Fadeyi.
In Ekiti South Senatorial District, the incumbent Senator, Biodun Olujimi of the PDP, lost her re-election bid to an APC member currently in the House of Representatives, Yemi Adaramodu, who scored 63,189 votes against Olujimi’s 36,191 votes.
Meanwhile, the deputy minority whip at the House of Representatives, Segun Adekoya, lost his bid to continue representing Ijebu-North/East/Ogun Waterside federal constituency on the platform of the PDP. The Returning Officer, Adeyemi Bamgbose, said the candidate of the APC, Adegbesan Joseph, scored 35,708 votes to defeat Adekoya, who scored 25,450 votes.
In FCT, Ireti Kingibe, of the Labour Party won the senatorial seat by defeating a three-term PDP Senator, Philips Aduda by a significant margin.
Also in Delta State, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu of PDP lost his bid to return to the National Assembly. He was defeated by the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Ngozi Okolie, in the election conducted for the Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency of the state.
According to the result declared by INEC Returning Officer for the constituency, Prof Kenneth Abaraibe, the LP candidate scored 53, 879 votes as against 33, 466 secured by Elumelu. The result was announced at the INEC Collation Centre in the Oshimili South Local Government Secretariat, Asaba.
