Breaking: INEC declares PDP’s Mutfwang Plateau Governor-elect

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Photo: Mr Caleb Mutfwang, Plateau State Governor-elect

Breaking: INEC declares PDP’s Mutfwang Plateau Governor-elect

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Mr Caleb Mutfwang, the candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Plateau Governor-elect following his victory in the governorship election which was conducted on March 18.

Announcing the results on Monday in Jos, the state capital, Prof. Idris Amali, the INEC Returning Officer for the election, who is the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Lafia, said Mutfwang, a lawyer, scored 525, 299 to defeat Dr. Nentawe Yilwada of the ruling APC, who scored 481, 370.

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With the above results, the PDP candidate floored his APC counterpart with a whooping gap of over 43,000 votes. Periscope International had earlier in a report this morning predicted Mutfwang to win with a minimum vote difference of about 40,000.

According to Prof Amali, out of the 17 local government areas in Plateau State, PDP won in 10 local government areas, while APC won in 7.

Mutfwang won in Mangu, Langtang North, Langtang South, Mikang, Barkin Ladi, Bassa and Riyom, Bokkos, Jos South and Qua’anpan LGAs.

APC’s Yilwatda won in Kanke, Shendam, Jos East, Pankshin, Kanam, Wase and Jos North LGAs.

Mutfwang’s victory against Yilwatda, who is Gov Simon Lalong’s surrogate and in-law, is one upset and humiliation too many for the governor.

The defeat comes not long after Lalong himself was humiliated in the defeat he suffered from PDP’s Senator-elect, retired Air Vice Marshal Napoleon Bali, during the Plateau South senatorial election held on February 25.

The PDP victory is also a boldly written quit notice for Lalong and the ruling APC from Government House, Little Rayfield, come May 29, after eight years of what many describe as disastrous legacies, characterized by nepotism and impunity.

Examples of such legacies of impunity and nepotism include his alleged role in the arbitrary removal of the state’s pioneer APC chairman, Chief Letep Dabang, the removal of the former Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Abok, the impeachment of the former Chairman of Quaan-Pan LGA, Isaac Kwallu and the nepotism of strategically planting people of  his Gamai ethnic group everywhere in choice positions, among others.

Meanwhile, our correspondent reports that following the PDP’s victory, a massive crowd of the party’s supporters poured onto the streets of Jos, the Plateau State capitals.

Many of them had laid siege to the outside of INEC office in Jos since Sunday anxiously awaiting the official declaration of the results which was delayed till Monday because results from four local governments had not arrived in the state collation centre.

As of Sunday, Mutfwang was clearly coasting home to victory but for the results from four  local governments, where results were still being expected, the Returning Officer, postponed the collation of the results until Monday morning.

The affected local governments were Bokkos, Jos North, Jos South, and Qua’anpan. all of which are very big PDP strongholds, except Jos North, which is an APC stronghold.

For instance, PDP won the two House of Assembly seats for Quaan-Pan North and Quaan-Pan South state constituencies in the March 18 elections.

The party also won the House of Assembly seat for Bokkos state constituency, as well as that of Jos South in the March 18 elections.

In Jos North, which is considered a traditional APC stronghold, PDP’s Musa Agah had won the Jos North/Bassa House of Reps seat during the February 25 National Assembly polls.

Besides, the combined PDP total votes in Jos South, Quaan-Pan and Bokkos, were expected to cancel out whatever advantage the APC would get from Jos North votes, and has turned out to be a deciding factor in Mutfwang’s victory.

Perhaps, the reality of APC’s impending defeat may have informed the decision of some desperate APC supporters who released a fake result on social media on Sunday which went viral claiming that APC had scored over 95,000 votes in the Jos North tally, while PDP polled a meager 21,000.

However, It turned out that in Jos North, which had generated so much controversy and tension, APC actually scored just 83,170 votes against PDP’s 64,690, that is just a slight margin of less than 20,000.

The results announced by INEC are as follows:

1 JOS EAST
APC 11852
PDP 9290

2 BARKIN LADI
APC 18,568
PDP 32,119

3 BASSA
APC 25,788
PDP 29,135

4 LANGTANG SOUTH
APC 12,437
PDP 16,104

5 KANKE
APC 35,436
PDP 6,870

6 LANGTANG NORTH
APC. 20,756
PDP. 27,826

7 MIKANG
APC 10,691
PDP 12,027

8 PANKSHIN
APC 28,827
PDP 15,957

9 SHENDAM
APC  30,815
PDP  17,733

10 RIYOM
APC 12,657
PDP 18,647

11 WASE
APC 35,011
PDP 26,557

12. KANAM
APC 48,710
PDP 28,706

13 MANGU
APC 25,570
PDP 77,279

14 BOKKOS
APC 20779
PDP 26,529

 15 QUAAN-PAN
APC 24,940
PDP 31,726

 16 JOS SOUTH
APC 35,403
PDP 84,300

17 JOS NORTH
APC 83,170
PDP 64,690
LP 6,915
PRP 206

TOTAL

APC 481,370

PDP 525,299

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