By Sam Kayode
Borno state Governor Professor Babagana Zulum has won the Governorship elections with a land slide.
Returning officer, Professor Jude Rabo. while announcing the results in the collation centre in Maiduguri this evening said the Governor polled a total of 545,543 votes.to win the election.
A total of 649,855 votes were cast in the Governorship election in which the Peoples Democratic (PDP) Mohammed Jajeri got 82,147 or 15 percent as the closest rival to the incumbent Governor.
Meanwhile the APC has won the entire seats in the State Assembly elections.
Professor Rabo said that Governor Babagana Zulum, secured 85% of votes after collation was concluded across the 27 Local Government Areas (LGAs).
Declaring the results, Prof Rabo said “Having satisfied the requirement and won 25 percent in all the 27 Local Government Areas, I, Professor Jude Samani Rabo, hereby declare Babagana Zulum the valid winner of the March 18 governorship election and returned as validly elected,” he declared.
He explained that 636,246 was the total valid votes recorded from 650,533 accredited votes, while the total votes cast stood at 649,835.
Prior to a live declaration of Zulum’s re-election, Vice President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, APC National Vice Chairman-North, Abubakar Kyari, senators newly elected National Assembly members and some party stakeholders converged at the official residence of the Governor to monitor the announcement.
Led by Shettima, the stakeholders sat around Zulum and rose with standing ovation as soon as INEC’s returning officer, Professor Jude Rabo, declared Zulum as re-elected.
There was overwhelming jubilation at the Government House and on the streets of Maiduguri, especially from the collation centre at the college of education in the city.