Against predictions, APC wins Plateau governorship seat

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The All Progressive Congress gubernatorial candidate for Plateau State, Simon Lalong, has been declared winner, having scored 564, 913 votes.

Declaring the results in the early hours of Monday, the returning officer for the governorship election, Emmanuel Kucha, who is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Agriculture Makurdi, said Mr. Lalong scored the highest number of votes cast in the Saturday election.

Plateau State has been a stronghold of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party since 1999. The party won in the state in the presidential election of March 28.

Mr. Lalong defeated the PDP candidate, Gyang Pwajok, a serving senator representing Plateau north in the National Assembly, who polled 520,627 votes.

The APC candidate won 11 out of the 17 council areas of the state.

Mr. Lalong defeated Mr. Pwajok in his home council area, Jos north, scoring 117,443 votes; while Mr. Pwajok’s kinsmen gave him 61,391 votes in Jos north.

Other council areas that gave the APC victory were Mikang local government, hometown of Mr. Pwajok’s Director General of Campaign Daniel Kumi, Bokkos, Mangu, Kanam, Jos east, Langtang north, Quanpan and Wase Local Government Area.

Mr. Pwajok also won in Barkinladi, Riyom, Bassa, Kanke Langtang south and Jos south, which is the council area of incumbent Governor Jonah Jang.

Following the announcement of the results, which gave opposition political party victory, security has been stepped up in most flashpoints within Jos metropolis.

The governorship and states House of Assembly elections in Plateau State claimed the life of a voter in Jos north council area, who allegedly attempted to create commotion at a polling unit, and was shot dead by a security agent.

Meanwhile, the elections were adjudged peaceful, however characterized by low turnout of votes, with a few cases of irregularities recorded in some polling units; particularly cases of over voting in most polling units, which APC agent refusing to sign results sheets from Riyom, Jos south and Bassa local government areas where the PDP was victorious.