The 2019 Akwa Ibom State gubernatorial election was held on 9 March 2019. Incumbent PDP Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel was re-elected for a second term, defeating Nsima Ekere of the APC. The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Emmanuel the winner on 10 March 2019.

Emmanuel was returned unopposed as the PDP's gubernatorial candidate and retained Moses Ekpo as his running mate. Ekere won the APC primary and selected Amadu Atai as his running mate. Forty-five candidates were registered for the election.

Electoral system The Governor of Akwa Ibom State is elected using the plurality voting system.

Primary election PDP primary Udom Gabriel Emmanuel won the primary election after he was returned as the sole candidate. He picked Amadu Jackson Attai as his running mate.

APC primary The APC primary election was held on September 30, 2018. Nsima Ekere won the primary election polling 160,458 votes against 3 other candidates. His closest rival was Dan Abia who came second with 4,189 votes, Akpanudoedehe came third with 2,015 votes, while Edet Efretuei had 1,234 votes.

Legal challenges

Following the election, Nsima Ekere and the All Progressives Congress challenged the declaration of Udom Gabriel Emmanuel as the winner.

Election petition tribunal

The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Uyo dismissed the petition filed by Ekere and the APC on 19 September 2019 and upheld Emmanuel's election. The tribunal held that the petitioners had failed to establish their allegations of non-compliance with the electoral law and irregularities sufficient to invalidate the election.

Court of Appeal

Ekere and the APC appealed the tribunal's decision. On 13 November 2019, the Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar upheld Emmanuel's election and dismissed the appeal. The court also awarded ₦500,000 in costs against Ekere.

Supreme Court

Ekere subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking the nullification of the election and a fresh election. In December 2019, the Supreme Court upheld Emmanuel's election and dismissed the appeal.

Results A total number of 45 candidates registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission to contest in the election.

The total number of registered voters in the state was 2,119,727, while 720,064 voters were accredited. Total number of votes cast was 712,037, while number of valid votes was 696,245. Rejected votes were 15,792.

By local government area Here are the results of the election by local government area for the two major parties. The total valid votes of 696,245 represents the 45 political parties that participated in the election. Green represents LGAs won by Udom Gabriel Emmanuel. Blue represents LGAs won by Nsima Ekere.

LGAUdom Gabriel Emmanuel PDPNsima Ekere APCTotal votes#%#%# Esit Eket 13,406 3,917 Ibeno 10,008 1,442 Urue-Offong/Oruko 6,915 4,592 Okobo, Akwa Ibom 10,800 6,079 Nsit-Ubium 17,863 6,004 Onna 32,103 2,110 Uruan 12,895 5,192 Nsit-Atai 8,855 3,783 Ikot-Abasi 9,335 7,549 Obot-Akara 13,979 4,704 Uyo 35,092 12, 549 Abak 17,461 11,505 Ini, Akwa Ibom 17,335 3,316 Nsit-Ibom 17,326 4,816 Mbo, Akwa Ibom 9,631 5,419 Eket 26,372 5,087 Oruk Anam 35,093 8,640 Itu, Akwa Ibom 14,633 5,911 Ukanafun 35,447 7,220 Etinan 22,954 8,089 Ibesikpo Asutan 15,679 11,216 Udung-Uko 4,036 2,108 Mkpat-Enin 18,056 4,769 Ika, Akwa Ibom 12,752 3,212 Oron, Akwa Ibom 8,433 3,859 Ibiono-Ibom 36,988 7,280 Ikot Ekpene 14,832 11,240 Etim Ekpo 10,149 2,776 Eastern Obolo 10,780 1,914 Ikono 18,910 4,498 Essien Udim 2,161 6,938 Totals519,712171,978696,245

References