INEC declares Labour party’s Alex Otti as winner of Abia Governorship election

Key highlights

• Alex Otti of the Labour Party was declared the winner of the Abia State Governorship election after securing 86,938 votes more than his closest challenger, Okey Ahiwe of the PDP.
• The results were finally declared after the initial delay due to the controversy surrounding the Obingwa LGA result.
• The Returning Officer and the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Professor Nnenna Oti, had insisted on doing the right thing and protecting democratic values.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the Labour Party candidate, Alex Otti, as the winner of the Abia State governorship election held on March 18, following the eventual declaration, on Wednesday, of the results of the controversial Obingwa Local Government Area results.

Otti polled a total of 175,467 votes to beat his closest rival, Okey Ahiwe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who recorded 88,529 votes to come second, while Enyinnaya Nwafor of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) third a distant third with 28,972 votes.

The Returning Officer and the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Professor Nnenna Oti, declared the Labour Party candidate the winner at the headquarters of INEC in Umuahia, the state capital, on Wednesday afternoon after completing the suspended collation of results.

With the conclusion of the collation of the outstanding results of the election, the PDP scored 9,962 votes, while the Labour Party scored 3,776 votes in the Obingwa LGA. The Labour party won in 10 LGAs, the PDP won in 6 LGAs with the YPP won in only one LGA.

State Collation Officer insists on doing the right

There has been a lot of tension build-up in the state over the delay in announcing the results of the governorship election in the state due to the controversy surrounding the Obingwa LGA results.

Members of both the PDP and the Labour party were separately engaged in protests in the state with both parties each claiming victory in the election.

Before the announcement, Nnennaya-Oti said she will do the right of the people and protect democratic values.

• She said, “I shall stand squarely and unapologetically on these principles. The people’s votes and mandate shall stand.
• “The pastor and the mother in me will not permit me to do anything that will adversely affect the future of our children.’’

Here is a breakdown of the results from all the 17 LGAs in the state

(1) Aba North

APC – 487
APGA -1404
APP- 549
LP- 20974
PDP- 4146
YPP- 2296

(2) Aba South

APC – 487
APGA – 1470
LP – 20,974
PDP – 4146
YPP – 2296

(3) Arochukwu

APC -1082
APGA -460
APP- 893
LP- 12689
PDP- 1280
YPP- 410

(4) Bende

APC – 2143
APGA -947
APP- 2733
LP- 9886
PDP- 5410
YPP – 1667

(5) Ikwuano

APC -1198
APGA- 499
APP-515
LP-7054
PDP-2427
YPP-270

(6) Isialangwa North

APC – 838
APGA -225
APP- 78
LP- 7327
PDP- 21741
YPP 18

(7) Isialangwa South

APC – 1580
APGA -366
APP- 134
LP- 7589
PDP- 9093
YPP 1691

(8) Isuikwuato

APC – 872
APGA -3662
APP-
LP- 8228
PDP- 2204
YPP 0

(9) Obingwa

APC – 721
APGA -1445
APP- 192
LP- 3776
PDP- 9926
YPP-3101

(10) Ohafia

APC – 1354
APGA – 945
APP – 1013
LP  – 11,848
PDP – 4128
YPP – 667

(11) Osisioma

APC – 504
APGA – 292
APP – 123
LP  – 7032
PDP – 4697
YPP – 8839

(12) Ugwunagbor

APC -375
APGA- 398
APP- 514
LP- 2159
PDP- 2538
YPP- 1805

(13) Ukwa East

APC – 560
APGA -646
APP- 890
LP- 2273
PDP- 2329
YPP – 759

(14) Ukwa west

APC – 1209
APGA -830
APP- 699
LP- 2833
PDP- 4622
YPP – 890

(15) Umuahia North

APC – 7225
APGA – 1816
APP – 905
LP – 27668
PDP – 4843
YPP – 2999

(16) Umuahia South

APC – 1398
APGA – 1841
LP – 16,187
PDP – 4564
YPP – 323
APP – 562

(17) Umunneochi

APC – 2034
APGA -581
APP- 699
LP- 5940
PDP- 3198
YPP – 314

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