APC’s Abiodun Defeats Adebutu, Reelected Ogun Governor

The Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has been reelected for a second term of four years. 

The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate was declared the winner by Prof Kayode Adebowale, the state returning officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the March 18, 2023 governorship election in Ogun State.

Abiodun polled 276,298 to defeat his closest rivals — Ladi Adebutu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 262,383 as well as Biyi Otegbeye of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) who got 94,754 votes and who has the backing of former governor and serving APC senator, Ibikunle Amosun.

“That Abiodun Adedapo Oluseun of APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned election,” Adebowale stated.

Governorship elections were held in 28 of Nigeria’s 36 states on Saturday. The governorship and state assembly elections were held a week later than initially scheduled after a court case forced INEC to move them forward.

Eight of the 36 states — Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Osun, and Ondo — have governorship elections “off-season” due to litigations and court judgements.

In alphabetical order, the 28 states where governorship elections were on March 18 are Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara.

Of the 28 states, 11 serving governors including Abiodun sought reelection while 17 outgoing governors are in the final weeks of their constitutional two-term limits of eight years, having been sworn in on May 29, 2015.