# 2019 Nasarawa State gubernatorial election

The 2019 Nasarawa State gubernatorial election occurred on March 9, 2019, the APC nominee Abdullahi Sule won the election, defeating David Ombugadu of the PDP.
Abdullahi Sule emerged APC gubernatorial candidate after scoring 926 votes and defeating his closest rival, Ahmed Wadada Aliyu, who received 519 votes. He picked Emmanuel Akabe as his running mate. David Ombugadu was the PDP candidate with Ogoshi Onawo as his running mate. Labaran Maku was the APGA candidate, while Umar Aliyu Doma stood for ZLP. 29 candidates contested in the election.

## Electoral system

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

## Primary election
### APC primary

The APC primary election was held on September 28, 2018. Abdullahi Sule won the primary election polling 926 votes against 10 other candidates. His closest rival was Aliyu Wadada, a house of representatives member in the state who came second with 519 votes, while Silas Ali Agara, the incumbent governor in the state came third with 352 votes.

### Candidates

* Party nominee: Abdullahi Sule: GMD of Dangote Sugar Company
* Running mate: Emmanuel Akabe: former commissioner of health, Nasarawa State
* Aliyu Wadada: House of Representatives member
* Silas Ali Agara: incumbent deputy governor, Nasarawa State
* Danladi Envu-luanza
* Ibrahim Jafar
* Zakari Idde
* Dauda Kigbu
* Shehu Tukur
* Maikaya Mohammed
* James Agbazon
* Hassan Liman

### PDP primary

The PDP primary election was held on September 30, 2018. David Ombugadu won the primary election polling 745 votes against 3 other candidates. His closest rival was Solomon Ewuga, a former senator who came second with 519 votes, Philip Gyunka, a serving senator came third with 123 votes, while Dameshi Luka, a former deputy governor polled 18 votes.

### Candidates

* Party nominee: David Ombugadu: Serving member of the house of representatives
* Running mate: Ogoshi Onawo: Serving member of the federal house of representatives
* Solomon Ewuga
* Philip Gyunka
* Dameshi Luka

## Results

A total number of 29 candidates registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission to contest in the election.
The total number of registered voters in the state was 1,617,786 while 686,303 voters were accredited. Total number of votes cast was 681,400, while number of valid votes was 670,879. Rejected votes were 10,521.
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Abdullahi Sule | All Progressives Congress | 327,229 | 48.78 |
| | David Ombugadu | People's Democratic Party | 184,281 | 27.47 |
| | Labaran Maku | All Progressives Grand Alliance | 132,784 | 19.79 |
| | Ibio Umar Aliyu Doma | Zenith Labour Party | 13,307 | 1.98 |
| | Ishaq Ahmed Kana | Social Democratic Party | 7,442 | 1.11 |
| | Suleiman Umaru Ajaja | Action Democratic Party | 1,355 | 0.20 |
| | Zaggi Rabo Zakka | African Democratic Congress | 1,319 | 0.20 |
| | Mustapha Momammed Alfa | Allied Peoples Movement | 773 | 0.12 |
| | Tanko Malam | Progressive Peoples Alliance | 679 | 0.10 |
| | Animiku Anthony Kukumah | All Grassroots Alliance | 526 | 0.08 |
| | Aliyu Danjuma Dogara | Nigeria For Democracy | 258 | 0.04 |
| | Mohammed Ahmadu Adamu | Peoples Party Of Nigeria | 186 | 0.03 |
| | Ombugadu Victor | Advanced Congress of Democrats | 97 | 0.01 |
| | Sale Yahaya Alaji | Providence Peoples Congress | 85 | 0.01 |
| | Anjugu Abimku Moses | Justice Must Prevail Party | 82 | 0.01 |
| | Haruna Iliyasu Shauaibu | Independent Democrats | 79 | 0.01 |
| | Matthew Avre Ombugaku | Re-Build Nigeria | 72 | 0.01 |
| | Mohammed Awwal Suleiman | KOWA Party | 49 | 0.01 |
| | Nyam Mark Maida | People's Trust | 46 | 0.01 |
| | Ismalia Taofiq | Democratic People's Congress | 38 | 0.01 |
| | Peter Helen | Masses Movement of Nigeria | 38 | 0.01 |
| | Bako Ahmed | Non-constituency Member of Parliament | 33 | 0.00 |
| | Kreni Danju Mantani | Young Progressives Party | 33 | 0.00 |
| | Aba Joseph R. | Alliance of Social Democrats | 28 | 0.00 |
| | Theohius Gyado Madaki | Change Advocacy Party | 16 | 0.00 |
| | Mohammed Nazir Adamu | Green Party of Nigeria | 12 | 0.00 |
| | Cerrone Solo Waziri | Mass Action Joint Alliance Party | 12 | 0.00 |
| | Sale Yahaya Alaji | People's Redemption Party | 12 | 0.00 |
| | Khalid Shuaibu Mairiga | Democratic Alternative | 7 | 0.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | 670,878 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 670,878 | 98.46 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 10,521 | 1.54 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 681,399 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 1,617,786 | 42.12 |
| Source: INEC |||||

### 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 670,878 represents the 29 political parties that participated in the election. Blue represents LGAs won by Abdullahi Sule. Green represents LGAs won by David Ombugadu.
| LGA | Abdullahi Sule APC | Abdullahi Sule APC | David Ombugadu PDP | David Ombugadu PDP | Total Votes |
| LGA | # | % | # | % | # |
| Wamba | 15,706 | | 9,332 | | |
| Awe | 29,443 | | 9,228 | | |
| Keana | 11,759 | | 6,579 | | |
| Toto | 32,213 | | 8,590 | | |
| Kokona | 23,027 | | 18,971 | | |
| Doma | 10,029 | | 10,318 | | |
| Keffi | 25,589 | | 12,419 | | |
| Obi | 20,640 | | 17,951 | | |
| Nasarawa | 31,586 | | 17,406 | | |
| Karu | 23,207 | | 21,967 | | |
| Akwanga | 21,968 | | 18,402 | | |
| Eggon | 11,611 | | 14,290 | | |
| Lafia | 70,451 | | 18,827 | | |
| Totals | 327,229 | | 184,281 | | 670,878 |