Olusesan Oba
Nigerians will today return to polls to elect 28 state governors and 993 House of Assembly members as the curtain draws on the 2023 general elections.
Governorship elections will not hold in eight states namely Kogi, Osun, Anambra, Imo, Osun Ekiti, Bayelsa and Edo election because the exercise takes place off-cycle in those places but House of Assembly polls will hold in the states.
Governorship elections will take place today in 28 states namely Zamfara, Yobe, Sokoto, Taraba, Kano, Kwara, Kebbi, Katsina, Ogun, Plateau, Kaduna, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Borno, Delta, Cross River and Jigawa.
Others are Adamawa, Ebonyi, Lagos, Nasarawa Yobe, Rivers, Ogun, Oyo, Gombe and Niger states.
418 candidates are seeking to become Governors in 28 states. 11 of those aspirants are serving governors while 17 of the incumbent governors would not be on the ballot.
The Governors seeking re-election are Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, Bala Muhammaed of Bauchi, Babagana Zulum of Borno, Muhammad Inuwa of Gombe State, Yobe’s Mai Mala Buni, Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Lagos’ Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun and Seyi Makinde, Oyo.
The 17 states, where the incumbent governors would not be on the ballot papers having served out their two terms are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto and Taraba.
However, 10, 231 candidates will also be vying for 993 House of Assembly seats across the country.
Upset imminent
The presidential elections held on February 25 threw up many upsets and such could also reflect in the outcomes of today’s polls as many incumbent parties could lose their strongholds to the opposition
The ruling All Progressives Congress won the presidential polls but faced tough challenges from the Peoples Democratic Party and the relatively strong Labour Party also gave the two dominant parties a run for their money.
Labour Party entered the race without any political offices but ended the contest with six Senators-elect and 34 House of Representatives members-elect and there are strong indications the party could nick a few Governorship seats after today’s exercise.
The party has strong chances in Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Cross River and even Lagos State.
The APC still hold the aces in many states including those governors seeking reelection under his banner. Sanwoolu (Lagos), Abiodun (Ogun), Buni (Yobe), Zulum (Borno), AbdulRazaq (Kwara) Matawalle (Zamfara) and Sule (Nasarawa) enter today’s contest with high hopes.
The PDP has been ruling in some states since the advent of the Fourth Republic but the party had never faced strong challenges to its strongholds as it is currently battling with.
The party has not lost governorship elections in Delta, Rivers, Enugu, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi even Benue (APC won only in 2015 here) but the current dynamism is pointing to the fact that PDP could be supplanted in those places after today’s polls.
Upset is likely in Delta where Sheriff Oborevwori is flying the flag of the PDP; he faces a huge challenge to ward off the threat posed by Ovie Omo-Agege of the APC and Ken Pela of the Labour Party.
LP won the presidential election with 341,886 votes and could be considered a strong contender but APC won two of the three Senatorial seats coupled with the popularity of its candidate Omo-Agege who is the current Deputy Senate President stand a better chance of upstaging the PDP hegemony in the state.
The PDP has also not lost any governorship election in Cross River but that could change this time with Ogar Esim of the Labour Party posing to take the seat. The state is currently under APC following the defection of Governor Ben Ayade in 2021 but the outing of the Labour Party in the presidential election in which it scored 44 percent of the total votes posed a huge threat to the chances of the ruling party which present s Senator Bassey Otu. Senator Sandy Onor of the PDP will also be hopeful of clinching the seat.
The intrigues trailing the governorship race in Lagos changed dramatically following the victory of the Labour Party in the presidential election. Prior to the polls, LP candidate Gbadebo Rhosdes-Vivour was considered an outsider in the contest but he has emerged as the major headache for the ruling APC in the state relegating Abdul-Azeez Adedira popularly known as Jandor of the PDP.
The contest in Lagos is most-attractive as political watchers are keen to know if the hegemony of President-elect Bola Tinubu would be broken by the victory of the Labour Party,
The APC and its forebearer parties namely Alliance for Democracy, Action Congress and Action Congress of Nigeria have been ruling in Lagos under the immense influence of Tiubu who is the first Governor in Lagos since 1999.
The PDP has frantically attempted to dislodge Tinubu and his party without success even with federal might but Labour Party is banking on the people’s power driven by the youths to succeed where the PDP failed.
The Labour party claimed almost all the votes in Enugu; it scored 93 percent of the total votes cast and left the crumb for PDP and APC to share. The PDP has been governing in the state since 1999 but Peter Mbah, the party candidate may not succeed where his predecessors achieved success because of the growing influence of the Labour Party.
Chijioke Edoga, the flag bearer of the Labour Party could ride on the wave of the Obidients Movement to coast to victory today and uproot the dominance of the PDP in the state.
Alex Otti, a very experienced politician is on the ticket of the Labour Party in Abia and with the solid outing of the party in the presidential election, he could claim victory in today’s polls.
He battles for the hots seat with Ikonne Ajuzie of the PDP and Emenike Ikechi of APC but could be banking on a repeat of the outcome of the February 25 elections in which his party claims 88 percent of the votes.
