Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State (PDP) has lost election into the Benue Northwest Senatorial seat to his former aide, Dr Titus Zam, of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Declaring the result, the Returning Officer, Prof. Rufus Shaa’ato, said Zam polled 143,151 votes to defeat Ortom who polled 106,882 votes, while Mr Mark Gbillah of Labour Party (LP) polled 51,950 votes.
Shaa’ato stated that Zam was declared winner having satisfied the requirements of the Electoral Law.
Zam was Ortom’s Special Adviser on Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs from 2015 to 2017.
Relatedly, Shaa’ato declared Mr Dickson Tarkighir of APC winner of the Makurdi/Guma Federal Constituency election.
The returning officer gave the breakdown as Tarkighir polling 49,511 votes to beat Mr Bem Mzondu (PDP) who polled 43,803 votes and Mr Jerry Agber of 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 declared.
Reacting to his victory, Zam said the era of imposing non-performing candidates on the masses was over, stressing that the people were now politically conscious and they would vote out ineffective representatives.
In Delta State, House of Representatives Minority Leader, Mr Ndudi Elumelu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was defeated by the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Mr Ngozi Okolie, in Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency.
Elumelu polled a total of 33,456 votes, while the LP candidate polled a total of 53,879 votes to emerge winner as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, Returning Officer, Prof. Kenneth Ibe, on Monday in Asaba.
In a move believed to be a fallout of the prrsidential election in which the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defeated his party,
the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State has approved the immediate termination of the appointments of a Commissioner, two Permanent Secretaries and the Chairman of the State’s Pilgrims Welfare Board.
A statement by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Muntari Lawal, said on Monday in Katsina that the affected officials include Alhaji Tasi’u Dahiru-Dandagoro, the Commissioner for Works, Housing and Transport.
Others are The Permanent Secretary, Sustainable Development Goals, Hajiya Fatima Ahmed, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Aminu Waziri.
Similarly, Masari has relieved the Chairman of the State’s Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Yusuf Barmo of his appointment.
The SSG said the termination of their appointments was part of move to make some strategic realignments and adjustments in the government.
“All the affected political and public office holders are directed to hand over all government properties in their possession to their respective permanent secretaries or the most senior directors as the case may be,” Lawal said.
