The All Progressives Congress (APC) has clinched 17 chairmanship seats and 178 councillor positions in the recently concluded local government elections in Yobe State.

The Chairman of the Yobe State Independent Electoral Commission, Dr. Mamman Mohammed, declared the winners subsequent to the collation of all results, underscoring that although other political parties contested, none were successful at any level.

Certificates of return will be presented to the winners by the state electoral umpire, and their swearing-in ceremony by Governor Mai Mala Buni is slated for a later date.

Governor Buni, speaking during his voting process in his hometown, expressed that his objective upon assuming office in 2019 was to grant autonomy to Local Government Areas, indicating that he does not stand against the federal government’s proposal to grant autonomy for local government areas.

“I am not opposed to local government autonomy. When I came onboard in 2019, my concept was to give autonomy to the local government.

“Unfortunately, about 6 out of the 17 local government areas can’t even pay their salaries, so the wisdom behind this joint account complimenting the efforts of the local governments with the state,” he said.