Incumbent governors rarely lose re-election in Nigeria, yet there are some instances where ‘power of incumbency’ failed, as witnessed in the just-concluded governorship election in Osun State.
Different sitting governors have failed to retain their seats due to a number of factors. However, Daily Trust highlights some of these instances.
Oyetola
Incumbent Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Osun State governorship election was defeated by Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Saturday election.
Oyetola polled 375,027 votes, while his rival, Adeleke, secured 403,371 votes to win the election.
Ambode
The former Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, lost his re-election bid from the start in the APC governorship primaries.
In a broadcast on the state, Ambode congratulated Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, his challenger, for the party’s ticket.
Sanwo-Olu was announced the winner with 970,851 votes against Ambode’s 70,901 votes, becoming the first incumbent to lose his own party’s governorship ticket in the 2019 general election season.
Mohammed Abubakar
In Bauchi, the case is not different, as Senator Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir of the PDP was declared the winner of the state’s gubernatorial election after defeating the incumbent governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar of the APC.
At the end of the keenly contested election, Abubakar polled a total of 500,625 votes, while the PDP candidate, Abdulkadir, polled a total of 515,113 votes.
Abubakar was elected under the platform of the APC in 201,5 and his re-election bid ended in 2019.
Bindow
Jibrila Bindow, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 election and then-incumbent governor of Adamawa State, was also defeated.
He scored 336,386 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ahmadu Fintiri, scored 376,552 votes, resulting in a margin of 40,166 votes.
The March 9 election in the state had been declared inconclusive because the number of cancelled votes was higher than the margin between Fintiri and Bindow.
After the rerun election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Fintiri the winner of the governorship election.
Fayemi
After a prolonged battle in court with the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria candidate, Dr Kayode Fayemi, who was later affirmed as the validly elected governor, was sworn in in 2010. Still, his attempt to return for a second term was aborted in the 2014 election. The then PDP governorship candidate, Ayodele Fayose, won the election.
