The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun the Collation of results for the governorship elections across 28 states where 837 candidates represented 18 political parties

It would be recalled that last Saturday’s gubernatorial elections were not held in 8 states; Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Osun and Ondo

The electoral body announced that the collation of results for the Lagos governorship election has been postponed to 11 am on Sunday due to the non-arrival of any results from the local government areas (LGAs) the day before.

The exercise would be held at the Lagos Collation Centre within the INEC office.

Meanwhile, INEC postponed last Saturday’s Governorship and State House of Assembly elections in 10 polling units situated in Victoria Garden City (VGC).

INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Segun Agbaje, said this while speaking with journalists at the Estate.

According to him, corps members deployed as ad hoc staff on Saturday were unwilling to enter the VGC estate having claimed that they were held hostage during the 25 February presidential and National Assembly elections.

Mr Agbaje said the commission’s ad hoc staff set up voting materials in front of the estate on Saturday but the estate residents claimed that hoodlums might disrupt the process, so they did not feel secure and could not cast their votes outside the estate.

“We have eight polling units here with 6,024 registered voters and out of which 5,624 people have their PVCs,” he said, adding that two other polling units at the estate’s main gate were also affected. “Eight here (in the estate) and two outside

“After due consultation and further directive from the national headquarters (we resolved) that we should remobilise here tomorrow (Sunday) morning by 08:30 a.m. to conduct the elections.

“By 08:30 a.m. tomorrow (Sunday), we will reconvene here.”

While confirming that the chairman of the security committee of the estate had assured the commission of the safety of corps members and INEC staff and voters, Mr Agbaje said the last person in the queue by 2.30 p.m. will be allowed to vote on Sunday.

Similarly, the Ogun Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Niyi Ijalaye, disclosed that the collation of the governorship and house of assembly election results would be suspended till 9 am on Sunday.

Also, INEC has declared the collation centre in Cross River State for the governorship and state house of assembly election results collation for Sunday.

During the declaration, late Saturday at the INEC Secretariat in Calabar, Prof Gabriel Yomere, Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Cross River, introduced Prof. Teddy Adies, State Returning Officer for the election.

For his part, Adies said the collation of results at the state level was after each of the results had been announced at the Local Government level.

The returning officer, who is from the Federal University Otueke, asked if any LGA was ready with their result and since none was ready, he postponed the collation to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

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He said by then, many results would have come in for the collation to fully commence.

In Oyo State, the final collation of results of the governorship House of Assembly elections will also be released this morning, Sunday, March 19, 2023.

The state INEC Public Affairs Officer, Olayiwola Awolowo, who disclosed this at the commission headquarters in Ibadan, said collation is expected to commence by 9 am.

NAN/Premium Times/PIAK

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