Ben Ayade, the Governor of Cross River State, has lost his bid to return to the Senate after being defeated by Sen. Jarigbe Agom-Jarigbe, the incumbent senator representing Cross River North.
Ayade, who served in the Senate from 2011 to 2015, was defeated in the National Assembly elections on Saturday by Agom-Jarigbe of the Peoples Democratic Party, who received 76,145 votes.
Dr. Emmanuel Emanghe, who spoke on behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), announced the results of the polls around 3:05 a.m. on Monday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Agom-Jarigbe, a two-term member of the House of Representatives, was elected to the Senate in a bye-election in September 2021 following the death of Dr Rose Okoh.
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.