As the results of the Plateau Governorship supplementary elections held on Saturday began to trickle in, Governor Simon Lalong got the early lead in Pankshin and Bokkos Local Governments.
In Pankshin, Lalong of the APC polled 446 votes out of the of the 597 votes cast at the Gyenyer and Kwem polling units, leaving Gen. Jeremiah Useni of PDP with 151 votes.
Dr O. Linus, the Returning Officer of the area, who declared the result of the elections declared Lalong as the winner, having scored the highest votes.
Linus, a lecturer in the Accounting Department of University of Jos, said, “Governor Simon Lalong, having scored the highest votes of the election in Pankshin and having made the requirement of the law is hereby declared winner and is hereby returned elected.’’
In Bokkos Local Government where elections were held in five different polling units, APC scored 1, 342 votes while PDP scored 1, 337 votes.
The INEC Returning Officer for Bokkos, Dr Linus Ven of the University of Jos, declared Lalong as the winner of the supplementary elections in the area where 5, 314 votes were expected.
“Lalong, having met the requirement of the law by polling the highest votes in the supplementary elections in Bokkos, is hereby declared winner and is so returned elected, ’’ Ven declared.
Speaking to NAN after, Mr Yusufu Machen, Chairman Bokkos local Government area, described the result of the supplementary election as “very satisfactory’’
“What Governor Lalong is looking for in the entire supplementary elections on the Plateau is just 5, 000 votes out of the total of 49, 000 expected votes to emerge winner comfortably in the state Governorship elections
“`From this performance in Bokkos, we in the APC are confidently sure that we shall win this election and continue to give the people of Plateau the desired leadership, ’’ Machen said.
Before INEC declared the governorship election inconclusive, Lalong had 583255 votes, while his challenger, septuagenerian Jeremiah Useni had 538,326 votes.
Siurce: NAN
