The Sokoto State Chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) on Sunday
\nrejected the declaration of Gov. Aminu Tambuwal as winner of the
\njust-concluded governorship election in the state.<\/p>\n
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mr Tambuwal
\nwinner of the election after Saturday\u2019s supplementary with a narrow margin
\nof 342 votes.<\/p>\n
The Chief Collation\/Returning Officer, Fatima Mukhtar, said Mr Tambuwal of
\nPeoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured the highest votes of 512, 002,
\ndefeating his close rival Ahmad Aliyu of APC, who polled 511, 660 votes.<\/p>\n
Addressing a press conference in Sokoto, the APC\u2019s spokeman, Bello
\nDanchadi, rejected the declaration on the ground that the process was
\nflawed with irregularities, which he said were duly reported to electoral
\nbody.<\/p>\n
Mr Danchadi said the margin of 342 votes was far less than the registered
\nvoters in polling units where elections were not held, a development which
\nhe said contravened the electoral law.<\/p>\n
He said the party had also registered its complaints to INE, which
\nincluded alleged outright rigging perpetrated by the PDP.<\/p>\n
He alleged that some eligible voters at some polling centres were denied
\nvoting, and in some places repeated votings were recorded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe draw the attention of INEC to a number of polling units that were
\ncanceled as result of violent attacks by thugs, while others were
\narbitrarily canceled to please certain political party interests.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn view of these we deem it necessary to express our disagreement with
\nthe action taken by INEC to declare a winner without giving us a fair
\nhearing in our position in the electoral processes, \u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Benue chapter of the APC also rejected the outcome of the governorship
\nelection declared on Sunday, in favour of Gov Samuel Ortom of the PDP.<\/p>\n
The party said in a statement on Sunday in Makurdi that the results did
\nnot reflect the wishes of the people.<\/p>\n
The statement signed by Eugene Aliegba, Secretary Jime\/Ode Campaign
\nOrganisation, said that APC would challenge the results in court.<\/p>\n
Mr Ortom polled 434,473 votes to defeat his closest rival, Emmanuel Jime
\nof the APC, who polled 345,155 votes.<\/p>\n
The statement declared that the outcome of the poll was \u201ctotally
\nunacceptable to the APC\u201d.<\/p>\n
It, however, thanked those who voted for Mr Jime and Sam Ode, the party\u2019s
\ngovernorship and deputy governorship candidates in the election, and
\nprayed God to reward them for their trust and confidence in the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we embarked on this journey many months ago, it was to translate to
\nreality the dreams of a better future for our suffering people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe toured the entire state and made our case for wealth creation through
\nagriculture, education reforms, infrastructure development and a welfare
\npackage for our senior citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe told our people of our plans for improved capacity and welfare for
\ncivil servants, and a health policy that covers all Benue residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur messages resonated with the electorate because they could tell that
\nour projects were about service, not hinged on intent to occupy office for
\nthe sake of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, even as the results declared did not appear to reflect the will of
\nmost of these same people, we call on our supporters to remain calm and
\nlaw abiding as they had been throughout the campaigns and electioneering
\nperiod.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have our full assurance that as a party that believes in democracy,
\nwe will not accept a stolen election,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
The statement implored the party faithful not to waver in their trust on
\nthe party to reclaim is mandate.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing into this contest, we were well aware of the fact that only one of
\ntwo outcomes was possible \u2013 either we win fairly in line with the massive
\nsupport we earned from the people, or another winner emerges through a
\ncredible and transparent process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did not anticipate a third option that confers advantage to those who
\nplay dubiously outside the laid down rules of the game,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will make a case before the Elections Petitions Tribunal to subject
\nthe Benue governorship elections result to an integrity test. If we opt
\notherwise, we will be as guilty as those who undertake acts that undermine
\ndemocracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have chosen to take action that insulates democracy from practices
\nthat threaten it,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
The party, therefore, urged its members and well-wishers to remain calm
\nand refrain from acts that would jeopardise the existing peace in the
\nstate. (NAN)<\/p>\n
The Sokoto State Chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) on Sunday rejected the declaration of Gov. Aminu Tambuwal as winner of the just-concluded governorship election in the state. The Independent…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n