Governor Ben Ayade’s ambition to return to the Senate for Cross River northern senatorial district seat has met a brick wall with a defeat in the hand of Senator JarIgbe Agom Jarigbe of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Declaring Jarigbe winner of the contest, late Sunday, the Returning Officer, Dr. Emmanuel Emanghe, said whereas Senator Jarigbe polled 76,145 votes, his opponent, Governor Ayade could only score 56, 595 votes.
“By the powers conferred on me as returning officer, I hereby announce and declare Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe as winner of the just concluded Cross River North Senatorial district election having scored the highest vote,” he stated.
He commended everyone who had been in the field including the media, and security agents for contributing to a successful poll.
Jarigbe, who had been a thorn in the flesh of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State, was seeking a re-election into the Red Chamber.
He became a senator after defeating the governor’s candidate, Dr Stephen Odey, in an INEC-ordered rerun shortly after the demise of Senator Rose Oko two years ago.
Furthermore, unconfirmed reports indicated that APC candidates in both the southern and central senatorial districts were leading their PDP counterparts with a wide margin too.
