Francis Nwifuru. the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared the winner of the March 18 governorship election in Ebonyi State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abakaliki. Nwifuru is the current Speaker of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly.
Charles Igwe, the State Returning Officer, who is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsuka, announced that Nwifuru scored a total of 199,131 votes to win the election. Ifeanyi Odii of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), scored a total of 80,191 votes to place second while Bernard Odoh, the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), came third with 52,189 votes.
“I, Professor Charles Igwe, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer of the governorship election held on 18th March 2023 in Ebonyi State.
“That Francis Nwifuru of the APC having satisfied the requirements of the law and having scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” he said
The total valid votes in the election were 342,554. These are the scores of the contesting parties:
AA – 554
ADC – 673
ADP – 578
APC – 199, 131
APGA – 52,189
APM – 206
APP – 99
LP – 6,793
NNPP – 674
NRM – 310
PDP – 80,191
SDP – 126
YPP – 280
TOTAL VALID VOTES =342, 554
REJECTED VOTES = 7,387
TOTAL VOTES CAST = 349,941
