The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared the winner of the Saturday’s gubernatorial election in the state.
Charles Igwe, the State Returning Officer, while declaring the result at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) State Headquarters in Abakaliki, said Francis Nwifuru garned a total of 199,131 votes cast across the 13 local governments in the state to defeat his closest challenger, Ifeanyi Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored a total of 80,191 votes, while the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Bernard Odoh, came third with 52,189 votes.
He said: “I, Professor Charles Igwe, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer of the governorship election held on 18th March 2023 in Ebonyi State.
“That Francis Nwifuru of the APC having satisfied the requirements of the law and having scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared winner and is returned elected,” he said
Mr Igwe, who is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsuka, said the total valid votes was 342,554 while 7,387 votes were rejected; bringing the total votes cast for the election to 349,941.
Meanwhile, the governor-elect, Francis Nwifuru, has thanked the people of Ebonyi State for entrusting their mandate to him for the next four years, while commending Governor Dave Umahi for his support.
Mr Nwifuru, who is the current Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, described his victory as a victory for equity and justice.
See the final results below.
Registered voters- 1597646
Accredited 350345
AA 554
ADC 673
ADP 578
APC 199131
APGA 52189
APM 206
APP 99
LP 6793
NNPP 674
NRM 310
PDP 80191
SDP 126
YPP 280
TOTAL VALID VOTES 342554
REJECTED VOTES 7387
TOTAL VOTES CAST 349941