Unconfirmed reports reaching us indicate that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the Kogi State Governorship election, Abubakar Audu, has died.
Sahara Reporters had reported his death earlier.
Audu is said to have died earlier today, but his death was kept secret by his family and associates according to additional reports from Kogi State.
Sahara Reporters, however, said Audu had died shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Saturday’s elections inconclusive.
The report is being verified.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Saturday’s governorship election in Kogi State inconclusive.
The Returning Officer of the election, Prof. Emmanuel Kucha, had declared the election inconclusive because the number of votes cancelled was more than the number of votes with which Audu led incumbent governor, Capt. Idris Wada.
Kucha said Audu polled 240,867 votes, 41,353 votes more than the 199,514 votes Wada got. However, the cancelled votes were 49,953.
The victory at the poll was meant to have allowed Audu to become the governor of the state for the third time.
A former banker, Audu, 68, had first been elected as governor of the state in 1991 – serving from 1992 till 1993, under the abortive third republic.
After five years of military rule, he was elected again under the platform of the All Nigeria People’s Party and governed the state from May 1999 to May 2003 after he failed in his re-election bid.
“On a general note, the election process went well across Kogi State, with election officials turning up and carrying out their responsibilities in most polling units visited,” election monitoring group, Situation Room, said in a statement on Sunday morning.
Wada had, however, criticised the conduct of the electionon Saturday after his accreditation and again after voting, informing journalists that there was a plot to undermine the outcome and scuttle his chances.
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