News
LIVE UPDATES: Uzodimma Declared Imo Winner, Kogi Collation Begins, Bayelsa Adjourned
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has held the first off-cycle polls since the 2023 general elections with Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi State residents deciding on their governors for new four-year terms.
A total of 46,084 regular and ad hoc staff were deployed in the three states, according to the electoral body.
At least 126 national and international organisations were accredited with 11,000 observers deployed for the elections, while 80 media organisations applied to deploy 1,203 personnel, including journalists and technical/support staff.
All 18 political parties contested in Kogi, while Imo and Bayelsa have 17 and 16 candidates, respectively. The parties deployed 137,934 agents made up of 130,093 polling and 7,841 collation agents for the election.
To ensure a secure environment for electoral conduct, the police mobilised a total of 92,565 personnel, including 27,000 in Bayelsa, 25,565 in Imo, and 40,000 in Kogi, and several assets such as five helicopters and 15 gunboats.
The Federal Road Safety Corps also deployed 1,500 operatives and 105 vehicles.
According to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the elections would be held in 10,470 polling units across 649 electoral wards in 56 local government areas.
12:28 pm: Results for Kabba-Bunu LGA, Kogi State (CODE 10)
A – 17
AA – 196
AAC – 23
ADC – 1,537
ADP – 73
APC – 12,376
APGA – 16
APM – 08
APP – 10
BP – 03
LP – 07
NNPP – 07
NRM – 16
PDP – 8,566
PRP – 12
SDP – 942
YPP – 11
ZLP – 03
Total Valid Votes: 23,823
Rejected Votes: 419
Total Votes Cast: 24,242
No. of Registered Voters: 87,162
Total No. of Accredited Voters: 24,242
Election Officer: Joy Daniel
LG Collation Officer: N/A
There was a cancellation in Polling Unit 09 at RA 10 with 174 total registered voters. According to the LG collation officer, the cancellation was a result of the refusal to use the BVAS. No cancellations or incidents of violence, according to the collation officer.
12:19 pm: While the Kogi State Returning Officer assures the complainants that their petitions will be reviewed by INEC, the SDP representative, Mr Edibo, says it is a matter of law that the collation should not continue until the issues raised are addressed.
Nevertheless, collation continues.
12:16 pm: The PDP representative at the Kogi Collation Centre, Mr. Abubakar Mohammed Mahmud, says he adopted the petition filed by the SDP.
In his remarks, however, the representative of the APC objects to the complaints made by the previous speakers, saying there were no such issues as mentioned by the SDP and the PDP.
12:14 pm: The representative of the SDP in Kogi, David Edibo, says he has petitions concerning the elections in Okehi, Okene and some polling units in Lokoja LGA due to alleged corrupt practices and sundry issues.
He adds that party agents were not allowed near the voting areas in Okehi and Okene LGAs.
12:12 pm: The Bayelsa Collation Centre adjourns sitting till 3 pm when other results are expected to have come in.
12:05 pm: Results for Yagba West LG, Kogi (CODE 21)
A – 29
AA – 31
AAC – 16
ADC – 4,556
ADP – 59
APC – 7,969
APGA – 05
APM – 04
APP – 03
BP – 01
LP – 03
NNPP – 03
NRM – 09
PDP – 3,010
PRP – 30
SDP – 1,002
YPP – 05
ZLP – 03
Total Valid Votes: 16,738
Rejected Votes: 363
Total Votes Cast: 17,101
No. of Registered Voters: 51,234
Total No. of Accredited Voters: 17,152
Electoral Officer: Mohammed
LG Collation Officer: Prof Christian Agbo of the University of Nsukka
No cancellations and incidents of violence, according to the Collation Officer.
11:59 am: Results for Idah LGA, Kogi (CODE 07)
A – 39
AA – 03
AAC – 08
ADC – 91
ADP – 22
APC – 20,33
APGA – 18
APM – 03
APP – 58
BP – 03
LP – 10
NNPP – 06
NRM – 05
PDP – 271
PRP – 51
SDP – 20,059
YPP – 46
ZLP – 16
Total Valid Votes: 22,742
Rejected Votes: 280
Total Votes Cast: 23,022
No. of Registered Voters: 64,339
Total No. of Accredited Voters: 23,044
No incident of cancellation is recorded.
11:53 am: The results for Ogori Magongo LGA, Kogi State are received after the correction of mix-ups.
11:52 am: Results for Yenagoa LGA (15 Wards) in Bayelsa State
APC – 14,534
LP – 244
PDP – 37,777
Number of Registered voters: 218,394
Accredited Voters: 54,380
11:51 am: According to the LGA collation officer in Ogori Magongo, Kogi, the election was only held in one ward, Oshobane — it was not conducted in nine wards.
11:47 am: The results in Ogori Magongo LGA, Kogi have been stepped down due to some mix-ups in the figures.
11:40 am: The collation officer for Ogori Magongo LGA in Kogi State says results were not received from 10 Registration Areas.
11:39 am: Results for Ogori Magongo LGA in Kogi State (CODE O1).
A – 00
AA – 00
AAC – 00
ADC – 11
ADP – 01
APC – 362
APGA – 00
APM – 00
APP – 00
BP – 00
LP – 01
NNPP – 00
NRM – 02
PDP – 86
PRP – 00
SDP – 195
YPP – 00
ZLP – 00
Total Valid Votes: 658
Rejected Votes: 07
Total Votes Cast: 665
No. of Registered Voters: 17,688
Total No. of Accredited Voters: 665
Electoral Officer: Garba Isah
LG Collation Officer: Dr. Kingsley Ogunemilo, University of Nsukka
11:32 am: Results for Ogbia LGA in Bayelsa State
APC – 16,319
LP – 57
PDP – 18,435
Number of Registered voters: 119,571
Accredited Voters: 36,955
11:26 am: Kogi Returning Officer, Prof. Urama, says, as electoral officials, they have taken an oath of neutrality.
He calls on all stakeholders present to cooperate with them, assuring the public that the electoral officials will dispense their assignment with fairness and honesty.
News
FG launches new digital postcodes
The code is designed to provide a precise, GIS-enabled reference for identifying locations.
• Image credit: NIPOST
The Federal Government has launched the National Digital Alphanumeric Postcode System, urging Nigerians to find and begin using their postcodes.
The National Digital Alphanumeric Postcode, operated by the Nigerian Postal Service, gives every addressable building a unique 11-character code — the code is designed to provide a precise, GIS-enabled reference for identifying locations.system. Easier to find, share and use.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani announced the launch in a post on X on Thursday.
Tijani described the system as a step towards making locations across the country easier to identify and connecting people and businesses to services and opportunities.
Tijani said the system could help businesses reach customers beyond their immediate neighbourhoods, enable families to provide accurate locations during emergencies and help government agencies reach communities with essential services.
The minister encouraged Nigerians to search for their postcodes through the official Digital Postcode website, postcode.gov.ng, and share them with family members, friends and businesses.
News
Nigeria @ 66: President Tinubu says next phase of reforms’ll cut cost of living
“Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. They confronted them,” he said, while warning against attempts to reverse the policies and return to what he described as the “abuse of addictive subsidies”.
President Bola Tinubu has declared that the next phase of his administration’s reform will be focused on reducing the cost of living, creating jobs and ensuring that the benefits of economic growth were widely shared.
President Tinubu gave the assurance in his Independence Day address to mark Nigeria’s 66th anniversary, titled “From Reform to Prosperity”, in which he defended the economic policies of his administration and urged Nigerians to stay the course.
Tinubu said the reforms undertaken since his assumption of office had corrected the country’s economic direction, describing them as painful but necessary treatment for longstanding structural problems.
Using a cancer patient as an analogy, the President said Nigeria had for too long treated the symptoms of its economic problems rather than confronting their underlying causes.
“By 2023, poverty was rising, and hope was nearly gone. The country’s situation was darker than ever. We had no choice but to act,” he said.
Tinubu said previous administrations had chosen “morphine” by sustaining inefficient arrangements and postponing difficult decisions, while his administration chose to “excise the cancer”.
He acknowledged that the reforms had produced painful “side effects”, but argued that the hardship should not be confused with the underlying economic problems they were designed to address.
“Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. They confronted them,” he said, while warning against attempts to reverse the policies and return to what he described as the “abuse of addictive subsidies”.
The President’s speech came as some stakeholders and analysts regretted that, despite various reforms embarked upon by successive Federal Governments, the country was yet to come out of the woods economically and socially.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has demanded the immediate release of five men arrested in Borno State for wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan “Tinubu Must Go.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate condemned the arrests, describing the slogan as a legitimate political expression rather than a crime. He argued that wearing a T-shirt with a political message should not lead to detention in a democracy.
The five men — identified as Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio and Abdulhamid Mohammed — were reportedly arrested by the Borno State Police Command in Maiduguri and charged with offences including criminal conspiracy and inciting disturbance.
Atiku recalled that President Bola Tinubu had previously protested against the fuel pricing policies of the Goodluck Jonathan administration. He insisted that Nigerians must equally be free to express dissatisfaction with current government policies.
“‘Tinubu Must Go’ is a demand for political change. It is not a weapon, a threat or a crime,” Atiku said. “Tinubu was free to tell Jonathan that his policies were hurting Nigerians. Nigerians must be free to tell Tinubu that his policies are hurting them. Release these five citizens now.”
He called on the authorities to disclose the detainees’ whereabouts, grant them access to their families and lawyers, and free them if the political slogan was the sole basis for their arrest.
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