ELECTION: APC SWEEPS SENATE

The All Progressives Congress, APC, apart from winning the presidential election conducted last Saturday, seems to be coasting home to victory as the various results for the election into the National Assembly are being announced.

In Nasarawa State for instance, the APC won two senate seats just and cleared all the senate seats in Kano State.

In Kano North, former House of Representatives member, Alhaji Barau Jubril, polled 381,393 votes to beat Senate Majority Whip, Senator Bello Gwarzo, who scored 107, 845 votes. Gwarzo has been in the Senate since 1999.

Also in Kano South, Kabiru Gaya defeated Alhaji Abdullahi Rogo, the former Commissioner for Local Government Affairs under former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau.

In Bauchi State, an APC candidate, Isah Misau, beat the Senate Leader, Abdul Ningi of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The Bauchi South senatorial candidate for the PDP and Governor of the state, Isa Yuguda, also lost to Ali Wakili, the APC candidate for the district.

In Sokoto State, Governor Aliyu Wammakko, the state governor, and his fellow candidates for the senate floored the PDP candidates.

In Kaduna, Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi of the PDP lost to Malam Shehu Sani of the APC.

In Ondo, the APC cleared two senatorial seats with Donald Alasoadura of the APC winning against the incumbent while APC’s Senator Ajayi Boroffice beat Senator Bode Olajumoke of the PDP.

In Kwara State, Dr. Bukola Saraki, a serving senator and former governor of the state, retained his seat.

In Benue State, Chief Barnabas Gemade, a serving senator who had dumped the PDP after alleging that the State Governor, Gabriel Suswam, wanted the ticket, beat the governor to clinch the senatorial ticket.

In Niger State, the incumbent Governor Aliyu Babangida lost to the APC, while in Ogun state, APC clinched two senatorial seats.

The APC also recorded success in many other states, paving way for the possibility of forming the majority in the next session of the National Assembly.

In Lagos State,  Senator Gbenga Ashafa, Senator Oluremi Tinubu and Solomon Olamilekan Adeola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the three Senatorial seats in Lagos to represent the state at the National Assembly.

In the election announced on Monday evening, Ashafa retained his senatorial seat as he won the Lagos East Senatorial election in the state.

Ashafa, according to results announced by the INEC’s returning officer, polled 181,221 votes to defeat the PDP candidate, Olabisi Owolabi-Salis, who scored 126,350.

Ashafa won in all the five local governments that make up Lagos East Senatorial District: Epe, Kosofe, Ikorodu, Ibeju Lekki and Shomolu.

In Lagos West Senatorial District, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola aka Yayi of the APC was declared winner.

In the results declaring Adeola as winner, he scored 429,765 votes to beat his rival, Segun Adewale of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 372,421 in the nation’s largest senatorial district.

He won in six of the 10 local governments, namely Alimosho, Agege, Ifako Ijaiye, Mushin, Badagry and Ikeja to beat his rival with 57,344 votes.

He lost in Ojo, Amuwo Odofin, Oshodi /Isolo and Ajeromi /Ifelodun.

In Lagos Central, Senator Oluremi Tinubu of the APC defeated Dr. Ade Dosumu of the PDP and other contestants in Saturday’s National Assembly polls to retain her seat.

Reacting to his victory at the Lagos East Senatorial election, Senator Ashafa said it was a hard-fought race and thanked all who supported him to emerge victorious, saying that “I am overwhelmed by your gesture and accept your mandate to represent Lagos East Senatorial District.

“I emerged winner with about 60 percent of the total votes cast at the election. I accept the challenge to serve you better for another four year,” said Ashafa at a news conference on Monday night.

He said the lessons to be learnt from this election was that the electorate had become more assertive and should not be taken for granted any longer as “they want us to move past political bickering.”

Ashafa said he is going back to Abuja to represent his people better, adding that he would work across party lines to make sure that “we get our country’s problems fixed. That is going to require us to monitor the budget closely in these times of austerity, to further commit to a more flexible and workakable transportation policy so we can fix our roads and other infrastructure.

“We want to make sure that we reform grey areas in our tax system so that companies can actually get the incentives they deserve and bring their jobs back home rather than sending them abroad and to make sure that young people are not crushed by the weight of unemployment, lack of power supply and other infrastructure,” he added.