By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won the governorship election in Zamfara State, taking the Government House from the incumbent Governor Bello Matawalle of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the early hours of Tuesday declared Dauda Lawal of the PDP as winner of the governorship polls which took place along with state assembly polls on Saturday.
Lawal the governor-elect, polled a total of 377,726 votes, to defeat Matawalle of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who polled 311,976.
This came after some mild drama over the presentation of the results for Maradun Local Government Area (LGA), where allegations surfaced that the Collation Officer, Dr Ahmed Kainuwa, had been abudcted.
He later arrived at state collation centre at the INEC headquarters in Gusau, Kainuwa.
Matawalle who was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019 had shortly after his inauguration decamped to the APC.
He has largely been criticised for his handling of insecurity in the state which borders Cameroon. Zamfara had become an epic centre for banditry and kidnapping, where armed men operate with impunity.
The defeat of APC in its Zamfara stronghold is considered a major upset in the governorship elections which took place in 28 out of the 36 states of the Federation.
