The Independent National Electoral Commission declared the Kebbi governorship election “inconclusive” on Monday. The contest was closely fought between the two major parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Prof. Yusuf Sa’idu, the Collation and Returning Officer and a professor at Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, made the announcement at the collation centre in INEC headquarters, Birnin Kebbi.
Sa’idu reported that cancellations occurred in 20 of the 21 local government areas of Kebbi State, affecting numerous registration areas across different polling units. He said the total number of collected PVCs in the affected polling units amounted to 91,829. The results showed the APC with 388,258 votes and the PDP with 342,980 votes, a difference of 45,278 votes.
Referring to the Electoral Act 2022, Sa’idu cited page 31, section 51, subsections two and three, for guidance. The law states: “Where the number of votes cast in an election in any polling unit exceeds the number of accredited voters in that polling unit, the presiding officer shall cancel the result of the election in that polling unit.” Sub‑section three adds that when a result is cancelled under subsection two, “there shall be no return for the election until another poll has taken place in the affected polling unit.”
By virtue of these provisions and his authority as the collation and returning officer for the 2023 gubernatorial election in Kebbi State, Prof. Yusuf Sa’idu declared the governorship election in Kebbi State inconclusive.
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