The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared last Saturday’s governorship elections in Adamawa, Bauchi, Plateau and Sokoto states as inconclusive.

INEC’s Returning Officer in Adamawa State, Professor Andrew Haruna announced that the decision became necessary because the number of cancelled votes recorded exceeded the margin of lead between the leading candidates.

Haruna explained that while the margin of lead was 32,476, the total number of cancelled votes was 40, 988, stressing that in such a case the electoral guidelines will be followed.

According to him, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Ahmadu Fintiri polled 367,471 votes while his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart and incumbent governor, Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla scored 334,995 votes.

He added that a total of 28 Registration Areas and 44 Polling Units were affected across Fufore,  Ganye, Guyuk, Lamurde, Madagali, Michika,  Mubi North,  Numan, Shelleng, Toungo and Yola South local government areas.

In Bauchi State, the Returning Officer, Professor Mohammed Kyari of the Federal University of Technology, Yola declared the governorship election in the state as inconclusive and ordered that a re-run election be conducted in Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area within the next 21 days.

According to the electoral umpire, rerun elections will also be conducted in all polling units across the state where elections were cancelled.

Announcing the result of the keenly-contested election at about 12:13 am on Monday at the INEC state office in Bauchi, Kyari disclosed that the difference between the two top contenders was not up to the number of registered voters in Tafawa Balewa where the elections were cancelled.

Going into the rerun, Senator Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) holds a slight edge over Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

INEC also declared the governorship election in Plateau State inconclusive following the inability of the leading candidate, Governor Simon Lalong of the APC to obtain a margin higher than the number of cancelled votes.

According to the results declared by State Returning Officer, Prof. Richard Anande, Governor Lalong polled 583,255 votes against the 538,326 votes scored by his closest rival, Jeremiah Useni of the PDP.

The lead margin between the two parties is 44,929 while the total number of cancelled votes which spread across 17 Registration Areas and 20 Polling Units in different Local Government Areas of the State was 49,377.

A total of 570 votes were cancelled in Barkin Ladi, 3,078 in Bassa, 4,157 in Jos North , 5,314 in Bokkos, 2,627  in Kanam, 5,501 in Langtang South and 1,144 in Pankshin LGAs.

Governor Lalong’s home local government of Shendam also recorded 851 cancelled votes while about 1,000 votes were cancelled in Wase. Mangu LGA has the highest number of 26,135 cancelled votes across three registration areas and 20 polling units.

Anande said the cancelled votes were as a result of over-voting and the deliberate failure to make use of the electronic voter accreditation system.

In Sokoto State, INEC’s Returning Officer in the state and Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Dutse, Professor Fatima B. Mukhtar declared the governorship elections as inconclusive because the difference between the leading candidates was less than the cancelled votes.

Speaking after the final collation of the results at the state collation centre at Sultan Abubakar Institute of Quranic and General Studies on Monday morning, Professor Mukhtar disclosed that incumbent Governor and candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),  Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is leading the candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC), Alhaji Ahmad Aliyu with 3,413 votes.

She said Tambuwal polled a total of 489,558 while Aliyu got 486,145, adding that the margin between the declared results for both candidates was less than the total number of cancelled votes in the state.

“The difference between the two major parties is just 3,413. With cancellations in 136 polling units which is equivalent to 75,403 registered voters across 22 Local Governments Areas of the State.

“In view of this explanation, I cannot declare any winner for this election. I hereby declare this election inconclusive,” she said.