The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared a journalist Rukayat Shittu winner of Owode/Onire State Constituency election in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The election to fill the state House of Assembly was held on Saturday.
The 26-year-old social media influencer contested the election under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
She scored 7,521 votes to defeat the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Abdullah Magaji who polled 6,957 votes.
The elated Shittu said she felt privileged to be pronounced winner of the election to represent Owode/Onire constituency.
She expressed her gratitude to APC leadership in the state and the electorate for giving her what she described as a rare opportunity.
“Youth and women are being sidelined in Nigerian politics but Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has shaped the face of Kwara. I will make sure I improve and encourage youth and women participation in the polity,” she said.
Until her election, Shittu was the head of the news department at Just Event Online publication.
Meanwhile, INEC also declared Kwara Speaker Yakubu Danladi-Salihu of the APC winner of the Ilesha-Gwanara Constituency.
The returning officer Adewale Rafiu said Danladi-Salihu polled 14, 949 votes while the first runner-up Usman Abubakar of the PDP got 2,072 votes.
