The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has defended its declaration of winner in the Saturday’s Kogi State governorship election despite suspension of election in over 50 polling units across the state because of pre-recorded result sheets and other electoral irregularities.

The commission also announced that it has cancelled the supplementary election it earlier scheduled to hold on Saturday November 18 in Ogori-Magongo and some other local government areas in the state.

The electoral umpire, which came under fire for declaring a candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Usman Ododo, winner of the election after announcing that he polled a total of 446,237 votes, on Tuesday said that it applied the “margin of lead principle” in announcing the winner.

According to INEC, Ododo’s closest rival, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), polled a total of 259,052 votes while Senator Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored a total of 46,362 votes.

The INEC’s Head of Voter Education and Publicity, Kogi State office, Mr Haliru Sule, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja, the state capital, said that the commission had received various complaints during the Saturday’s election, which it investigated and announced re-run in Ogori-Magongo and some other local government areas.

The News Agency of Nigeria quoted Sule as saying, “But when we looked at all that is in contention, we discovered that we have no option than to apply the margin of lead principle.

“The principle says, if the number of PVCs collected in polling units, where election didn’t hold or were cancelled, are not in excess of the difference between the winner and the loser, then the commission can go ahead and make its declaration.

“It’s true we did announce after our findings that there will be supplementary election in those areas in contention, but after due consideration to the difference, we applied the margin of lead principle.

“It was when we applied the margin of lead principle that we announced the result on Sunday, November 12, and declared the winner of the governorship election in Kogi, in the person of Alhaji Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“As it is now, there’s not going to be any supplementary or re-run in any polling unit in Kogi.

“By this, the governorship election in Kogi is concluded. What is left is the date for the issuance of a certificate of return to the winner of that election.”

Sule further noted that INEC was grateful to all the stakeholders involved in the conduct of the election.
He said, “We hope to continue to get this kind of cooperation and support from all of them, particularly the politicians and the electorate, in subsequent elections in the state.”