BENUE State governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Samuel Ortom has lost the Benue North-West senatorial election to Titus Zam of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Rufus Sha’ato made the announcement in Makurdi on Monday, February 27.
Sha’ato noted that Zam gathered a total of 143,151 votes, followed by Ortom with 106,882.
The candidate of the Labour party Mark Gbillah came third with 51,950 votes, according to results from polling units in the state.
Zam was Ortom’s former aide, serving as his Special Adviser on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs during his first tenure.
The governor lost in six out of seven local governments in the senatorial zone, winning only his local government area, Guma.
Sha’ato also stated that the APC won the elections in the Makurdi/Guma federal constituency.
The APC candidate in the elections Dickson Tarkighir polled 49,511 votes, followed closely by Ben Mzondu of the PDP with 43,893 votes and Jerry Agber of the LP who polled 23,414.
“Tarkighir having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared winner of the House of Representatives election for Makurdi/Guma Federal Constituency,’’ Shaa’ato stated.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.