Politics
Kwankwaso Leads With Over 270,000 Votes In Kano
Former governor of Kano State, and senator representing the state at the National Assembly, Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), is leading with 270,000 votes in the presidential election in 38 local government areas of Kano State so far declared at the state collation centre of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
With 464,133 votes, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Presidential Candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is next to Kwankwaso, while Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has secured 86,162 votes.
Peter Obi of Labour Party trails with 8,926 votes.
Out of the 38 Local Government Areas (LGAs) announced so far, NNPP won 29, while APC cleared the remaining nine.
Both LP and PDP’ are yet to win a LG.
Meanwhile, collation of results in the state will resume by 10am on Monday.
Atiku Defeats Tinubu, Obi In Osun
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has won Osun State.
Atiku polled 354,366 votes to defeat Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC, who got 342,945 votes.
The PDP candidate won in 20 local government areas against Tinubu’s 10.
The State Collation Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Tolulope Ogunsola, announced the results on Sunday, February 26.
The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, secured 23,283 votes while Rabiu Kwankwaso of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) polled 713 votes.
Atiku won in Obokun, Oriade, Atakumosa-East, Atakumosa-West, Ifelodun, Egbedore, Ilesa-East, Ilesa-West, Ifedayo, Odo-Otin and Ila.
Also, he won Boluwaduro, Irepodun, Orolu, Ede-North, Ede-South, Ife-South, Ife-North, Ola-Oluwa, and Ayedire local government council areas.
However, Tinubu won Boripe, Osogbo, Olorunda, Ife-Central, Iwo, Ayedade, Isokan, Ejigbo, Irewole and Ife-East.
Obi In Comfortable Lead In Delta, Beats Ibori In Own LG
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has won in Ethiope West, the Local Government Area of the National Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, after polling 10, 199 votes.
Mrs. Josephine Crossdale, who collated the result in the area, said the Presidential candidate of PDP and closed friend of erstwhile Governor James Ibori, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, scored 5,463 votes to clinch second position and Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC, secured 3,850 votes to come third.
Obi has won three out of the four local government areas so far announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Meanwhile, the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa won his local government, Ika North-East for his party but lost the Ika Federal Constituency to Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party’s candidate.
According to the results collated by the Electoral Officer, Mr James Olisa, Okowa won in Ika North-East after polling 16, 696 to beat his closest rival, Obi, who scored 8, 980 votes and Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu of APC, 1,902 votes.
Obi, however, took a good lead in Ika South, where he scored 17, 868 votes to beat Okowa, who secured 7,485 votes for the PDP, while Tinubu came third with 3,290 votes.
In Aniocha North, Obi won with 11,678 votes making it impossible for the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Ndudi Elumelu to deliver his party’s Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
PDP scored 3,783 to come second, while APC polled 1,146 to come third.
The result was announced by the Local Government Electoral Officer, Mr. Emeke Onyeme.
Obi took unprecedented lead in Oshimili North, Local Government Area of the Secretary to the State Government, Chief Patrick Ukah and Senator Peter Nwaoboshi of the APC, he polled 14,929.
According to the result, which was collated by Mr. Okonta Emmanuel, PDP scored 4,796 and APC, 1,688 to come second and third, respectively.
Meanwhile, the state Collation Officer for the presidential election, Prof. Owuneri Abraham Georgewill, has adjourned for break.
Obi Coasts To Landslide Victory In Edo
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released results of last Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections in some of the local government areas of Edo State with Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) in clear lead of other contenders.
As at the time of filing this report, results from nine LGAs have been announced, with candidate of the Labour Party (LP), winning eight with wide margins.
He is closely followed by candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who won in Owan West Local Government Area.
In Igueben, APC got 2,419; LP 6,449; and PDP – 3,530.
In Esan Central, APC scored 4,558; LP – 10,192, and PDP – 3,692.
In Esan North East LGA, APC – 2,589; LP -18,973; PDP – 2,091.
In Egor LGA, APC – 3,978; LP – 40,160; and PDP – 1,766.
In Esan South East LGA, APC – 4,675; LP – 10,511; and PDP – 3,961.
In Esan West LGA, APC – 3,417; LP – 18,793; PDP – 2,630.
In Uhuwonde LGA, APC – 3,244; LP – 12,955; PDP – 2,976.
In Urhionwon LGA, APC – 6,527; LP – 9,049; PDP – 4,668.
In Owan West LGA, APC – 9,322; LP – 6,112; PDP – 6,026.
Collation of the remaining nine local government areas continued on Monday.
Obi Wins Five Of Seven LGs In Plateau
The Labour Party (LP) has won five out of the seven local government areas so far declared in Plateau State while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won two and the All Progressives Congress (APC) is yet to make an appearance on the winners’ list.
The LP won in Bokkos, Langtang North, Jos East, Riyom, and Barkin Ladi LGAs.
The PDP won in Mikang and Langtang South while the APC is yet to win.
According to figures reeled out by the Returning Officers, results from Mikang show APC got 5,044, PDP got 7,211, and LP got 7,201.
In Barkin Ladi LGA, APC got 12,514, LP got 32,489, and PDP got 9,073.
In Riyom LGA, PDP got 8,181, LP got 15,171, APC got 6,936 while NNPP got 87.
In Jos East, APC got 6,348, Labour Party got 6,386, PDP got 5,144 and NNPP got 156.
In Langtang South, APC got 7,478, Labour Party got 6,045, PDP got 12,467 and NNPP got 24.
In Langtang North, APC got 8,706, Labour Party got 21,590, PDP got 17,751 and NNPP got 73.
In Bokkos LGA, APC got 10,858, PDP got 8,569 and LP got 32,581.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise yesterday (Sunday) despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections.
In a notice issued on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, the commission reminded the public that the exercise would end on Sunday, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the Commission stated.
INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
The new Electoral Act stipulates that INEC is required to stop voter registration, updating and revision of the voters’ register 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the printing of Permanent Voter Cards and other logistical preparations.
The law also requires the Commission to display the voters’ register for claims and objections within the stipulated period to enable eligible Nigerians to challenge omissions and errors and help ensure the credibility of the final register for the polls.
The INEC National Commissioner on Information and Voter Education, Mr Mohammed Haruna, told The Tide source that the Commission would not extend the deadline, stressing that the registration exercise had to close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning the data already collected.
“By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted,” he said.
Mr Haruna explained that the commission’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would begin processing the data immediately after the closure of the registration window.
He said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove multiple registrations before the provisional voters’ register is displayed for public scrutiny.
“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect,” he said.
According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be known after the biometric verification and the claims and objections process.
“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election,” Mr Haruna added.
Responding to concerns over the number of Nigerians who may be excluded from the 2027 electoral process by the closure, the national commissioner said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who presented themselves for registration.
He added that the commission had recorded registrations through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.
According to a public announcement signed by Mr Ariyo Rufus, Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity on behalf of Mr Oluwatoyin Babalola, the INEC Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the said exercise is aimed at assessing its operational readiness and testing the efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the governorship poll.
INEC stated that the exercise would simulate Election Day accreditation procedures but clarified that no voting would take place during the exercise.
The commission explained that “the mock accreditation would be conducted in selected polling units spread across the three senatorial districts of Osun State, covering Osun Central, Osun East and Osun West.
“In Osun Central Senatorial District, the selected local government areas are Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun and Boripe, with designated polling units identified for the exercise.
“For Osun East Senatorial District, the exercise will take place in selected polling units across Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Oriade and Obokun local government areas.”
INEC also listed Egbedore, Ede North, Ede South and Ejigbo local government areas as the selected councils for the mock accreditation exercise in Osun West Senatorial District.
The commission urged all registered voters whose polling units were selected to participate in the exercise, stressing that only holders of valid Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would be accredited.
“This exercise is designed to test the functionality and efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) under conditions similar to Election Day. There shall be no voting during the exercise,” the Commission stated.
INEC reaffirmed its appreciation to residents of Osun State for their continued cooperation and support throughout the electoral process.
INEC also assured political parties, the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders of the Commission’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election in Osun State.
Mr Dare made the remark while criticizing Alhaji Abubakar for hiring a United States of America lobbyist with $1.2 million, in preparation for the 2027 elections.
In a statement he personally signed, Mr Dare said the former vice president can’t take Nigeria down the path of self-destruction.
The statement read in part: “Worse still, for a man who presumes to offer leadership to Africa’s most populous nation, his recent resort to grievance offshoring, outsourcing political warfare to Washington and reportedly paying $1.2 million to an American lobbying firm to peddle petitions against a sitting Nigerian President, stands as an affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty and a vote of no confidence in its democratic institutions.
“It is also a stinging slight, an implicit condescension directed at generations of Nigerian journalists, policy analysts, academics, and public intellectuals who have spent decades analysing, critiquing, and carrying the burden of the nation’s democratic evolution.
“The Atiku Abubakar of today cuts a pitiable figure, a grotesque portrait of what a politician becomes when ambition overwhelms judgment and every political faculty becomes programmed for self-destruction.
“No, Atiku cannot take Nigeria down that path with him. He must travel it alone. But first, Nigerians deserve Atiku Abubakar’s report card. Charity, they say, begins at home, not in Washington.
“Nigerians deserve to know whether the Atiku Abubakar who has long presented himself as a democrat is, in reality, a politician of many colours. He has erected for himself a throne built simultaneously on sand and bayonets. It is time to explode the bayonets.”