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INEC wobbles, reverses itself on Kogi rerun

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The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, continued with its wobbling conduct of elections with the rerun of senatorial election conducted at the weekend in Kogi Central Senatorial District, reversing itself by declaring the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ahmed Ogembe, winner after initially declaring the election inconclusive.

It would be recalled that INEC had on Sunday declared the election inconclusive, citing the number of cancelled votes after claims that thugs destroyed the results sheets of some wards.

However, INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Rotimi Ajayi, on Monday, at Okene, the headquarters of the senatorial district, while deeclaring Ogembe winner, said the presiding officers in charge of the areas that were initially cancelled, had copies of the results that were said to have been destroyed by hoodlums during the election. He added that INEC officials later used the copies with the presiding officers to compute the final results, leading to the emergence of Ogembe as the winner.

Read also: We have learnt our lessons from Kogi election – INEC

According to him, Ogembe polled a total of 46,503 votes to beat the candidate of the Peoples Progressive Alliance, Senator Nurudeen Abatemi, who scored a total of 32,169 votes while the Social Democratic Party candidate, Dr. Wokili Moses, got 10,064 votes to come third.

Reacting to his victory, Ogembe, the incumbent chairman of Okene Local Government Area, pledged to be committed to the development of the senatorial district, adding that he would lobby the Federal Government towards revamping the Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill.

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