JUST-IN: Atiku Leads In Akwa Ibom As Akpabio Wins Senate Return

With the results declared so far by Returning Officers in the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections held on Saturday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has taken a commanding lead over his All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party (LP) counterparts, Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi respectively, as election results trickled in from local government areas of Akwa Ibom State.

With results from no fewer than 21 LGAs declared so far at the presidential election collation centre located at the State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) presided over by the State’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Cyril Onoregbe, Atiku has won in 17 LGAs, with Tinubu trailing in three, while Obi won in one LGA.

Elections in some Wards, according to the Returning Officers (ROs), did not hold because of violence especially in Ikono, Etim Ekpo, Ini and other LGAs, where cases of snatching of BVAS and killings were reported by the ROs.

Results of the remaining 10 LGAs were yet to be declared at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, the immediate-past Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the Akwa Ibom North-West election to return to the Senate.

Akpabio won in the majority of the 10 LGAs making up the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District (Akwa Ibom North-West) including Ikot Ekpene, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Oruk Anam and Abak LGAs, while his major challenger and former National Legal Adviser of the PDP, Emmanuel Enoidem, won in Ini and Obot Akara LGAs only.

The overwhelming victory of Akpabio, LEADERSHIP learnt, followed the resolution of some factions of the Young Progressives Congress (YPP), the ruling PDP and other political parties to surrender their structures to the former Senate Minority Leader.