# 2019 Kogi State gubernatorial election

The 2019 Kogi State gubernatorial election occurred on 16 November 2019. Incumbent APC Governor Yahaya Bello won re-election for a second term, defeating PDP Musa Wada and several minor party candidates.
Yahaya Bello emerged as the APC gubernatorial candidate after scoring 3,091 votes and defeating his closest rival, Babatunde Irukera, who received 109 votes. He picked Edward David Onoja as his running mate. Musa Wada was the PDP candidate with Samuel Aro as his running mate. 23 candidates contested in the election.

## Electoral system

The Governor of Kogi State is elected using the plurality voting system.

## Primary election
### APC primary

The APC primary election was held on August 29, 2019 Yahaya Bello won the primary election polling 3,091 votes against 9 other candidates. His closet rival was Babatunde Irukera, a chief executive of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission who came second with 109 votes, while Hassan Abdullahi Baiwa, member house of representatives came third with 44 votes.

### Candidates

* Party nominee: Yahaya Bello: incumbent governor
* Running mate: Edward David Onoja: incumbent deputy governor
* Babatunde Irukera: chief executive of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission
* Hassan Abdullahi Baiwa: House of Representatives member
* Yahaya Odidi Audi
* Sani Lulu Abdullahi
* Abubakar Bashir
* Yakubu Mohammed
* Hadiza Ibrahim
* Danlami Umar Mohammed
* Ikele Aisha Blessing

### PDP primary

The PDP primary election was held on September 3, 2019. Musa Wada won the primary election polling 748 votes against 4 other candidates. His closest rival Ibrahim Abubakar came second with 710 votes, Idris Wada, a former governor came third with 345 votes, while Dino Melaye, a Nigerian senator polled 70 votes.

### Candidates

* Party nominee: Musa Wada
* Running mate: Samuel Aro: former member of house of representatives
* Ibrahim Abubakar
* Idris Wada: former governor
* Dino Melaye: Nigerian senator

## Results

A total number of 23 candidates registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission to contest in the election.
The total number of registered voters in the state was 1,646,350, while 636,202 voters were accredited. Total number of votes cast was 624,514, while number of valid votes was 610,744. Rejected votes were 13,770.
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Yahaya Bello | All Progressives Congress | 406,222 | 66.51 |
| | Musa Wada | People's Democratic Party | 189,704 | 31.06 |
| | Other candidates | | 14,818 | 2.43 |
| Total | Total | Total | 610,744 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 610,744 | 97.80 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 13,770 | 2.20 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 624,514 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 1,646,350 | 37.93 |
| Source: Vanguard News |||||

### 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 610,744 represents the 23 political parties that participated in the election. Blue represents LGAs won by Yahaya Bello. Green represents LGAs won by Musa Wada.
| LGA | Yahaya Bello APC | Yahaya Bello APC | Musa Wada PDP | Musa Wada PDP | Total Votes |
| LGA | # | % | # | % | # |
| Olamaboro | 16,876 | | 8,155 | | |
| Idah | 4,602 | | 13,962 | | |
| Yagba West | 7,868 | | 8,860 | | |
| Ajaokuta | 17,952 | | 5,565 | | |
| Mopa-Muro | 4,953 | | 3,581 | | |
| Okehi | 36,954 | | 478 | | |
| Yagba East | 6,735 | | 7,546 | | |
| Koton Karfe | 14,097 | | 9,404 | | |
| Kabba/Bunu | 15,364 | | 8,084 | | |
| Okene | 112,762 | | 139 | | |
| Igalamela-Odolu | 8,075 | | 11,195 | | |
| Adavi | 64,657 | | 366 | | |
| Omala | 8,473 | | 14,403 | | |
| Ijumu | 11,425 | | 7,585 | | |
| Ogori-Magongo | 3,679 | | 2,145 | | |
| Bassa | 8,386 | | 9,724 | | |
| Ankpa | 11,269 | | 28,108 | | |
| Ofu | 11,006 | | 12,264 | | |
| Dekina | 8,948 | | 16,575 | | |
| Ibaji | 12, 682 | | 10, 504 | | |
| Lokoja | 19,457 | | 11,045 | | |
| Totals | 406,222 | | 189,704 | | 610,744 |