Live Updates, Results and Situation Report from Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi guber polls

Today is election day in the off-cycle states of Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa, where citizens will choose new governors.

Voters in the South East, South South, and North Central areas of Nigeria will cast ballots in this round of voting.

The current governors of Imo and Bayelsa are running for reelection, while Kogi State will choose a new leader.

To keep their respective states in power, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will focus on Kogi and Imo, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will focus on Bayelsa.

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has held sway in Bayelsa since 1999, and after briefly losing control in 2019 owing to a Supreme Court ruling, they rapidly restored control.

Former Governor Timipre Sylva of the APC and Udengs Eradiri of the Labour Party (LP) pose serious challenges to Governor Douye Diri’s reelection bid as a member of the PDP.

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms allowed by law, prompting a gubernatorial election.

Ododo Usman Ahmed of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has the endorsement of the sitting president, and he is running against Murtala Yakubu Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Dino Melaye of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and Leke Abejide of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

There were 17 candidates for governor in today’s election in Imo, all of them had been approved by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Athan Achonu of the Labour Party, Samuel Anyanwu of the People’s Democratic Party, and Governor Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are the frontrunners.

Meanwhile, InfoStride News will keep you updated on the situation in these states as it happens.

INEC workers and voting materials were late to polling places in Kogi.

In several areas of Kogi, INEC officials arrived late to voting places during the Off-cycle Governorship Election.

Officials and supplies were late to most areas outside of the Lokoja metropolitan area.

According to INEC’s announcement, all materials and officials will need to be present at their respective centers/polling units by 6:00 a.m.

Similar difficulties were experienced by communities including Adankolo, Lokongoma, and Kpata.

Mr. Cornelius Stephen, a government employee who traveled all the way from Kano to cast his ballot, was disappointed by INEC, which had promised on-time delivery of materials and arrival of officials to polling stations across Kogi.

The elections on February 25 and March 18 were nothing like this one.

It’s 7:40 in the morning, and as you can see, nobody is here at St. Luke Primary School in Adankolo, Lokoja 1 Ward A save the security guards,” he remarked.

However, the ward officials started trickling in at 8:15 a.m. and quickly made their way to the numerous voting places.

Presiding Officer (PO) Abiola Choice explained that material distribution delays at the RAC Centre in Crowder Memorial College, Lokoja caused them to arrive to St. Luke Primary School, Adankolo, later than planned.

She said, “There was no vehicle to transport us to the voting stations after we picked up the supplies from the RAC (Registration Area Centres).

The voters will check their identities against the voter registration lists posted on the walls before proceeding to the registration and voting stations. “As you can see, we are trying to prepare the tables and also paste the voters registers on the walls.

“By God’s grace in the few minutes we shall be done with the setting for the accreditation to commence,” Choice promised.

Once again, some polling places did not have representatives from any of the 18 parties that were eligible to vote.

In Lokoja City, voting has not yet begun.

Although voting was expected to begin at 9 a.m., many polling places in the Lokoja metropolitan area were not yet opened.

Security forces and voters were standing by at the Ava Junction polling location, waiting for Independent National Electoral Commission workers who were nowhere to be seen.

Many voters were observed at the Miami polling unit in Adankolo in the Lokoja local government area, double-checking their names against the INEC list.