It’s now official: Senate President Bukola Saraki has lost his bid for re-election into the Senate from Kwara Central, defeated by Dr. Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe of the All Progressives Congress.
Oloriegbe who is now the nemesis of Saraki, once ran against him in 2011 and believed his victory was stolen by then powerful ‘Governor Bukola Saraki’.
Oloriegbe, a medical doctor like Saraki, polled a total of 123, 808 votes to defeat Saraki who scored 68, 994 votes in the four local governments of Kwara Central Senatorial District.
The result of the election was announced by the Senatorial District Returning Officer, Prof Olatunbosun Owoyomi from the University of Ilorin.
In Asa local government, Oloriegbe polled a total of 15, 932 votes to defeat Saraki that scored 11, 252 votes.
The APC candidate also got 30, 014 votes in Ilorin East local government to 14, 654 polled by his PDP rival in the Senatorial race.
In Ilorin West, stronghold of Sen. Saraki, Oloriegbe polled 51, 531 votes to defeat the senate president with 30, 075 votes.
“In the past 15 years, our society has been in the grip of people who do not share our common values and heritage. They are dealers whose concerns are at variance with the people’s aspirations. They are leaders with inordinate appetite for wealth acquisition. They are political voyagers and power merchants”—Oloriegbe
The situation was the same in Ilorin South where the APC candidate floored the Senate President with 26, 331 votes as against 13, 031 votes garnered by Saraki.
The APC’s candidates also won the the House of Representatives seats in Asa/Ilorin West and Ilorin South/Ilorin East Federal Constituencies
In the Presidential election, APC maintained the lead in 14 out of the 15 local governments already announced.
PDP only led in Oke Ero local government with 6,242 votes to 6,079 votes polled by APC.