Lalong declared reelected as Plateau governor

Incumbent Gov. Simon Lalong, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau, has been declared winner of the rerun gubernatorial election in the State.

Lalong gathered 595,582 votes to win, with his closest rival, Jeremiah Useni, a retired Army General who was the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), polling 546,813 votes.

Prof Richard Kimbir, the Returning Officer, presented the result on Sunday in Jos on behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Plateau.

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“The valid votes totalled 1,159,954, with the rejected votes standing at 16,188, while the total votes cast was 1,176,142,” he said.

The margin of victory between Lalong of APC and Useni of the PDP is 48,769 votes.

The gubernatorial election held on March 9 in Plateau had been declared inconclusive.

This had led to a rerun election in 40 polling units in nine Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.(NAN)