Lagos governor wins re-election over Nigeria’s ruling party

Babajide Sanworu of the All Progressive Congress led the vote by a clear margin over his closest rival from the Labor Party.

Lagos governor won re-election easily with low turnout local votes, figures show, Nigeria’s ruling party triumphs after just weeks in commercial capital supported the opposition of contested presidential election.

The ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) party’s incumbent Babajide Sangwoor received more than 736,000 votes after votes were tallied in districts that accounted for 95% of voters on Sunday, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

According to figures released by INEC, his closest rival, Labor Party’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, received 292,000 votes.

Turnout was only a fraction of the 7 million registered voters in Africa’s largest megacity with a population of over 20 million.

of Lagos election It was the most high-profile race for constituencies competing for powerful governors in 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states and state legislatures across the country.

The race in Lagos is expected to be close as opposition Labor Party candidate Peter Obi won the state’s most votes in last month’s controversial presidential election, with APC’s Bora Tinub winning overall. was expected.

Tinub himself is a former Lagos state governor who ran the state from 1999 to 2007 and has since been seen as instrumental in choosing his successors, including Sanwool.

Obi has said rampant fraud robbed him of victory, and political analysts say his handling of last month’s presidential election may have deterred some voters from participating in Saturday’s local elections. says.

Some INEC officials, who announced the results in Lagos on Sunday, reported that some ballot boxes had been stolen, but said it was not widespread enough to affect the outcome of the vote.

Voting at 10 polling stations near Lagos was postponed to Sunday following disagreements between INEC officials and voters over polling place locations. The final result was later expected.

Governors wield wide-ranging influence in Africa’s most populous country, and their support helps determine who becomes president.

Some governors preside over states with annual budgets larger than some small African countries. Lagos’ annual budget is he $4 billion.

In northeastern Adamawa, a conservative, mostly Muslim state, election officials collated post-election results. First female elected governor of Nigeria.

Voters were still casting their ballots in two districts in oil-producing Rivers State, but INEC was unable to distribute ballots.