The recent local government elections in Nigeria have unveiled contrasting outcomes, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) emerging victorious in Gombe State while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) clinched victory in Oyo State.
Gombe State Independent Electoral Commission (GOSIEC) Chairman, Saidu Shehu, announced that out of the 19 registered political parties, only five participated in the elections. The APC, PDP, Accord, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Young Progressives Party (YPP) were the contenders. Notably, the APC swept all 11 chairmanship seats and 114 councillorship positions, with victories even in areas like Kaltungo and Shongom, where the party ran unopposed. Shehu revealed that other parties failed to field candidates for councillorship positions, leading to the automatic return of APC candidates.
The victory for APC has paved the way for the swearing-in of the newly elected local government council officials by Governor Inuwa Yahaya. However, the triumph was not without controversy, as the Gombe State chapter of the PDP rejected the outcome, labeling it a "distortion of democracy." The party vowed to explore appropriate redress mechanisms.
In a parallel narrative, the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) declared that the PDP secured victory in all chairmanship seats across the 33 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state. The results, announced in Agodi, Ibadan, the state capital, highlighted a clean sweep by the PDP. However, allegations of irregularities surfaced, with the APC in Oyo State denouncing the election as a sham that could tarnish the state's reputation. Reports indicated that some wards in Ibadan North, Ibadan South-West, and parts of Saki in the Oke Ogun axis experienced disruptions during the polls.
