The governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Akwa Ibom State, Gov. Udom Emmanuel has won the 2019 gubernatorial election in the State.
Out of the thirty-one Local Government Areas in the State, the governor-elect who is also the incumbent won thirty local governments including Ikot-Abasi, the local government of his opponent, Obong Nsima Ekere but lost to APC in Essien Udim, Senator Godswill Akpabio’s local government.
Formally announcing the result on Sunday at about 12:29am in the INEC headquarters at 4/5 UdoUdoma Avenue Uyo, the Returning Officer (RO), Prof. Faraday Osasere Orumwense, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Edo state, said Gov. Emmanuel polled a total number of 519,712 votes to defeat his opponent in the All Progressives Congress, who scored 171,978 votes which translated to winning with a margin of 347,734 votes.
Declaring Gov. Emmanuel winner, the returning officer said, “Udom Emmanuel having certified the requirement of the law and having scored the highest vote is hereby declared the winner of the 2019 governorship election in Akwa Ibom state.”
Prof. Orumwense explained that the number of registered voters were 2,119,727, number of accredited voters were 720,064 the number of rejected votes 15,792 while total votes cast were 712,037.
Meanwhile the state governorship collation Agent of the APC, Bishop Samuel Akpan has contested the authencity of the result insisting that elections accross the state was shambolic, bedevilled with fraud and malpractice therefore would never be accepted by the All Progressives Congress in the State.
The APC state collation agent called for the cancellation of the result and immediately staged a walk-out from the venue and never signed the election result sheet.
However, some parts of Uyo metropolis especially the ever bubbling plaza have been agog with the victory of governor Emmanuel.
Youths defied the late night announcement of the results to troop out enmasse, chanting victory songs in celebration of the result.
