Nigeria's opposition rejects state election results

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria

Nigeria’s main opposition party on Monday rejected the results of gubernatorial elections in two states over the weekend.

The national electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission, on Monday declared the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) the winner of polls held in oil-rich Bayelsa state in the country’s south and volatile central Kogi state.

But the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the election as a charade and called on the electoral body to cancel the results.

"The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party and the overwhelming majority of the people of Kogi state reject the conduct and outcome of the gubernatorial election held on Nov. 16, 2019," Musa Wada, the PDP’s candidate in Kogi, said at a press conference in the capital Abuja.

Local observers said the polls were marred by electoral malpractices and violence with around 10 people killed.

"I condemn in strong terms the violence in Kogi state," Yahaya Bello, Kogi governor-elect, said Monday in a press conference.

The PDP had ruled Bayelsa state for two decades.

The APC now controls 19 of Nigeria's 36 states while the PDP controls 16. The remaining state is ruled by a smaller party.

President Muhammadu Buhari has sympathized with the families of those killed in the election violence.

"All political actors and stakeholders must take deliberate steps to eschew electoral violence, as a peaceful and orderly process is vital to the quest for enduring democracy," the president said in a statement issued by his media advisor.