INEC declares Ebonyi speaker, Nwifuru winner of gov’ship poll

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