Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, has lost his bid to return to the Senate under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, following his defeat by the incumbent senator representing Cross River North, Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe.
Ayade who was in the Senate between 2011 and 2015, lost the National Assembly elections conducted on Saturday with 56,595 votes to Agom-Jarigbe of the Peoples Democratic Party who polled 76,145 votes.
Emmanuel Emanghe, the returning officer, who spoke on behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission announced the result of the polls on Monday and thanked stakeholders for their peaceful conduct
Emanghe also lauded all security agents for giving the needed security support which invariably led to successful and credible elections.
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Agom-Jarigbe, a two-time member of the House of Representatives, was elected into the Senate through a bye-election in September 2021 following the death of Rose Okoh, the chairman, Senate Committee on Trade and Investment.
Similarly, Ayade who is serving out his two-term as governor of the State sought to replace Agom-Jarigbe as the senator representing the northern senatorial district of Cross River.
However, the re-elected Senator could not be issued with the Declaration Form after his declaration by the returning officer.
Upon demand of the Declaration Form, Agom-Jarigbe was told that it was mistakenly taken to Obudu by the electoral body in the State.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Gabriel Yomere, who spoke on phone said, “the form was mistakingly taken to Obudu but he can be issued with a temporary one pending when the original one will be brought.”
