The All Progressives Congress (APC) has won all 21 chairmanship and 239 councillorship seats in Saturday’s local government elections in Kogi State.
The results were announced on Sunday by the Chairman of the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission (KOSIEC), Mamman Nda Eri, at the commission’s headquarters in Lokoja.
Eri said APC candidates emerged winners in all 21 local government areas and 239 wards across the state.
He disclosed that 12 political parties were cleared to participate in the election after meeting statutory requirements, while the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were among those excluded over alleged failure to meet documentation and deadline requirements.
According to him, the election covered 3,508 polling units and was conducted in accordance with the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission Law, 2025, and the Electoral Act, 2022.
He added that certificates of return would be issued to the elected officials on a date to be announced.
The commission commended Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo for providing logistical support and what it described as an environment free from interference. It also acknowledged the roles of security agencies, political parties, observers, journalists and voters.
Ododo described the exercise as peaceful, contrasting it with previous local government elections in the state, which he said were characterised by violence.
“You can see that local government elections are now just like a carnival,” the governor said, while thanking President Bola Tinubu for supporting security efforts.
An election observer, Dr Joseph Aremu, an associate professor at the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED) and chairman of the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission, also described the election as peaceful and reported substantial voter turnout.
However, opposition figures questioned the credibility of the exercise.
The Kogi State Chairman of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Mohammed Kabir Abdullahi, described the election as “the biggest mockery” of democracy, arguing that the country had regressed rather than made democratic progress.
Similarly, the state PDP Organising Secretary, Abdukadir Ibrahim, alleged that electoral materials were diverted to undisclosed locations instead of being taken to designated local government areas.
The outgoing chairmen and councillors were sworn in on October 23, 2024, for a two-year tenure.
