The National Assembly Elections Apr 14, 2003, 20:41

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An interview with INEC Chairman

Nigerians voted in a new National Assembly last Saturday 12 April 2003.

Major upsets were recorded in the Southwest geopolitical zone where President Olusegun Obasanjo’s party – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – secured a commanding victory, winning 75 percent of the Senate seats. Of the 18 Senate seats in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States, the PDP won 12, leaving the hitherto dominant Alliance for Democracy (AD) with the remaining six.

The PDP ran neck and neck with the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in the House election results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). PDP won 22 out of the 49 seats so far declared while AD has 27 seats – with 22 won in Lagos State. PDP took the lead in Osun (6), Oyo (8) and Ondo (6) while AD won five seats in Osun (1) and Oyo (4) states.

The results so far have shown that ANPP has taken over most of the Federal constituencies from the ruling PDP in most of the 19 Northern states. For instance, in Kano state where there are 24 Federal constituencies, the ANPP, which hitherto had one seat, clinched 14 seats at the Federal House of Representatives. It also won the two Senate seats hitherto occupied by the PDP.

The ANPP also swept all the seven House of Representatives seats in Jigawa state and sprang a surprise in Plateau State by winning four out of the eight Federal Constituencies whose results have been announced, just as it emerged victorious in five out of the seven Federal constituencies in Kaduna state. In Kaduna State, the PDP secured only one of the three senatorial seats leaving ANPP with the remaining two.

In Adamawa state, ANPP made an impressive outing, winning one of the two senatorial seats from the result so far released. It also made an inroad in Katsina, with four House of Representatives seats to its credit.

The Alliance for Democracy, on its own, made spirited inroad into North and East of the country to give it the much-needed national spread. In addition to winning one senate seat in Borno (Northeast), the party also captured many representative seats from the Southeast.

Most of the remaining 27 newly registered political parties, however, performed poorly. Only three parties – APGA, National Democratic Party (NDP), and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) – secured few seats in the in-coming assembly.

Reports across the country indicate that the election, which is the first leg of the general election, was largely peaceful. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has so far announced results from 20 States and the Federal capital Territory (FCT).

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