Alhaji Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi State, has emerged flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the November 16 governorship election.
The chairman of the Electoral Committee for the primary election and governor of Jigawa state, Mohammed Abubakar Badaru, declared Bello winner at the end of the exercise.
According to him, there was total of 3,838 delegates while 3,596 were accredited for the election. He said a total of 54 votes were invalid.
Bello polled 3,091 votes during the party’s primary held on Thursday at the Lokoja Confluence Stadium to emerge the flag bearer.
Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Barr. Babatunde Irukera came a distant second with 109 votes.
Four aspirant; Blessing Aisha Ekele, Hadiza Ibrahim, Yakubu Mohammed and Danladi Mohammed failed to secure a single vote.
Former PDP House of Reps candidate, Engr Bashir Gegu polled 3 votes, Yahaya Audu got 7 votes while a former President Nigeria Football Federation, Sani Lulu Abdullahi garnered 10 votes.
The younger brother of the APC National Women Leader, Hon. Hassan Abdullahi Baiwa polled 44 votes. Hassan, a member of House of Representatives, who came third in the primary election, staged a walk out over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the exercise.
In his victory speech, Bello said he was delighted over the victory, and assured that he would work with all other aspirants who lost in the primary election.
“I am delighted to have won the party’s primary election, and I am also happy because the delegates voted for me. It shows that they believe so much in my abilities.
“All other aspirants are my friends and colleagues, and I am going to work with them to ensure that our great party emerges winner in the forthcoming gubernatorial election,” he said.
