Ahead of the March 23 gubernatorial supplementary elections in Sokoto State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Alhaji Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, on Monday said he is ready for the exercise.
Alhaji Aliyu, in a chat with newsmen, said “I, and my party, have accepted the outcome in good faith. If you recall on the day of election, I made it clear after casting my vote that, I will accept any outcome in good faith.”
Similarly, Chairman of the Northern Senators Forum and Coodinator, Northwest APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, also noted that “The party, its leaders and supporters are law abiding citizens and, as such, we have accepted the decision by INEC, in good faith.
“The action of the Chief Reurning Officer, who declared the election as inconclusive was in line with the nation’s constitution, as well as the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended.
“The declaration of the elections as inconclusive came at a time when the party was leading and we have won more than the two-thirds majority of the votes, as required by the law.
“Apt and accurate figures in our possession have shown that, I was already coasting to victory, yet, we directed our peaceful and lawful supporters to halt their celebrations.
“We have since directed them to embark on immediate and massive mobilisation of our supporters and the patriotic electorate, in readiness for the forthcoming rerun elections in 136 polling units across 22 local government areas to be conducted by INEC later”, Sokoto added.
“There is no cause for alarm, victory is ours, Insha Sha Allah,” he said.
The Adamawa State chapter of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’)s decision to declare the governorship election in the state as inconclusive.
The former governor, Boni Haruna, who stated the party’s position, also described the decision by INEC to declare the election inconclusive as absurd, unfortunate, and unacceptable.
Haruna revealed that reports at the disposal of the PDP in Adamawa State indicated that the number of collected PVCs in the 44cancelled polling units is less than the lead margin declared and as such cannot affect any difference even if the whole votes are given to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The Adamawa State PDP also revealed that it has uncovered plans by the APC-led government in the state to use the military to intimidate and scare voters in PDP controlled units saying such a plan will not work.
The Adamawa PDP also informed that the clear lead by the PDP governorship candidate, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, over Governor Umaru Jibrilla Bindo of the APC is a testament to the fact the people of Adamawa have changed an inept, non-performing regime.
While calling on all PDP supporters to remain calm, the former governor prevailed on INEC to do the right thing by returning the PDP candidate as the winner of the governorship election of March 9.
Adamawa PDP Chairman and all members of the PDP executive in the state attended the briefing alongside Boni Haruna.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the ‘Berlin Wall’ of hegemony politics has finally fallen in Kwara State, following the massive victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2019 general elections in the state.
The Minister, who is the leader of the APC in Kwara, said the party’s brooms have swept the state clean of all traces of hegemony politics, after the party won all 24 House of Assembly seats, all three senatorial seats, all six House of Representatives seats, the governorship and the presidential elections in the state.
”The result is 35-0! Our brooms have swept the state clean,” he said, tracing the long battle for the emancipation of Kwara to Nov. 17th 2018, when the party won the by-election for the Ekiti/Oke-ero/Irepodun/Isin federal constituency.
Thanking the ‘long-suffering’ people of Kwara for their hard work, sacrifices and determination that culminated in the victory, after they rallied under the ‘O To Ge (enough is enough) movement, Alhaji Mohammed said never again will anyone enslave Kwarans under the guise of dynasty or hegemony politics
He said God made the massive victory possible, and thanked the security agencies, the leaders of the party at state and national levels as well as President Muhammadu Buhari whose leadership and unflinching support, he said, propelled the APC to victory.
The Minister said the victory transcends Kwara State, adding: ”It is a victory for all advocates of good governance everywhere. It is the triumph of good over evil, no matter how long it takes…and a hard blow to those who willfully turn the public treasury into their personal piggy banks.”
He said, however, that with the victory, the real work has just begun, in view of the high expectations of the people.
”We cannot afford to disappoint our people. We must ride on the wave of their enthusiasm and determination to deliver to them the dividends of democracy, for which they have been yearning. All our leaders, both elected and otherwise, must come together to channel the energy and vibrancy of our people to positive goals,” Alhaji Mohammed said.
He called on APC members and supporters in the state to be magnanimous in victory, saying there is no room for vindictiveness or hatred in the new Kwara.
”The massive victory in Kwara State came on a peaceful note. We must maintain that and banish all the vestiges of violence from our state,” the Minister said.
Muslim clerics Monday counseled the Kwara state governor-elect Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq not to disappoint the people of the state.
In a brief sermon, an Ilorin based Islamic preacher, Ustaz AbdulRasaq Ibrahim, urged the newly elected APC political leaders in the state not to disappoint the people who elected them into positions of authority.
He warned that “people may revolt if their expectations are not met.”
He urged the new government to promote people-oriented programmes so as to improve the welfare of the residents, saying that they should not be discriminatory in spreading development, but should let it cut across all parts of the state.
Ibrahim prayed for prosperity, peace and abundance in the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Saturday’s governorship election in Plateau, Adamawa and Benue States inconclusive.
Prof. Richard Kimbir, the Returning Officer for the election in the state announced this in the early hours of Monday in Jos, after collating results from the 17 local government areas.
Kimbir, who is the Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, said the total number of votes cancelled were more than the difference in the number of votes the the two major candidates got, “hence was constrained to declare the polls inclusive”.
The returning officer said Mr Simon Lalong of the All Progressive Congress (APC) scored 583, 255 votes, while his closest rival, Lt. Gen. Jeremiah Useni (rtd) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) garnered 538, 326 votes in the election.
Kimbir who put the total number of cancelled votes in the state at 49, 347, noted that it was above the total difference of 44, 929 in the votes scored by the two major candidates.
“In line with section 179, subsection two of the 1999 constitution as amended, I am constrained to declare this election inconclusive.
“This is because the total number of cancelled votes is above the difference that exist in the votes garnered by the two major candidates.
“So, in line with the electoral act, a supplementary elections will be conducted in the affected areas in 21 days,” he declared.
Shendam, Barkin Ladi, Bassa, Bokkos and Kanam were the LGAs affected by the cancellation.
Others affected include Jos North, Langtang South, Mangu and Pankshin.
Similarly, INEC says the Adamawa Governorship election is also inconclusive and a new date for the rerun election would be announced.
The Returning Officer .Prof. Andrew Haruna, confirmed the development at the governorship election collation centre in Yola on Monday.
Haruna said the number of cancellations was higher than the margin of lead votes between the two contestants and therefore, a new date for the rerun election would be fixed.
Haruna mentioned about 44 polling units affected across the state.
Gubernatorial election in Benue state has been declared inconclusive.
Announcing the decision, the returning officer and vice chancellor university of Jos ,Professor sabastin maimaiko said the number of rejected and cancelled votes stands at one hundred and twenty one thousand and nineteen and higher than the margin of lead which is eighty one thousand five hundred n fifty four.
INEC would is yet to fix the date for election in the cancelled areas.
The Ogun State APC House of Assembly candidate for Yewa North Constituency 1, Hon. Bababode Edun, has congratulated the Governor-Elect for Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on his victory in the Saturday gubernatorial election.
In a statement signed personally by him and released to the media in Abeokuta, today, Bode Edun described the win as a hard fought and won battle that has brought liberation to the people of the state.
According to him, Prince Abiodun’s victory is also an indication of the acceptance of the APC in the state despite the challenges and formidable opposition.
His words: “The good people of Ogun State stood behind the party and voted for our candidate last Saturday. This victory is an opportunity to re-enact the progressive platform of unprecedented development, through regional integration and socio-economic cooperation.
“I wholeheartedly congratulate Prince Dapo Abiodun, his running mate, the progressive family in Ogun State, the leadership and all members of our party that worked hard for this victory.
“On behalf of my family, friends, supporters and the good people of Ogun State, I wish him a fruitful and successful tenure in the service of the people of Ogun.” Bababode Edun
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared March 9 Governorship election in Sokoto state inconclusive.
It said the decision was because 75, 403 votes were cancelled which were higher than 3, 413 margin difference.
The State’s Chief Returning Officer, Prof. Fatima Muktar, made the declaration on Sunday in Sokoto, stating that 51 Candidates contested the election.
Muktar, who is the Vice Chancellor, Federal University Dutse (FUD) , Jigawa, declared that it was based on the consideration of cancelled votes that emanated from 136 polling units in the state.
”From the forgoing, the election is declared inconclusive as I cannot take a decision in recognition of the narrow margin according to electoral law,” Muktar said.
She added that the total registered voters were 1, 887, 767 while 1, 033, 081 voters were accredited.
She said the total valid votes were 987, 952 and the total rejected votes were 30, 082, while the total votes cast were 1, 018, 024 at the concluded election.
According to the results declared, Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has won the election in 12 out of the 23 LGAs results announced with 3,413 votes margins.
NAN reports that Tambuwal polled 489, 558 votes while his close rival, Alhaji Ahmad Aliyu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) scored 486, 145 votes.
According to her, the PDP has the higher votes in 12 LGAs while APC has 11 LGAs with a margin of 3, 413 votes difference between them.
She said the figure of cancelled votes was 75, 403 at different polling units across the state due to various reasons.
She further explained that other parties shared the remaining percentage of votes cast.
The Oyo state chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Sunday, submitted a petition against the governor-elect and Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) candidate, Mr. Seyi Makinde, to the electoral umpire, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The party in the petition accused Makinde of what it described as “breach of electoral laws”, and called for his immediate arrest and prosecution.
The petition addressed to the Oyo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, and entitled “Petition Against Engr. Seyi Makinde on Electoral offences committed in breach of electoral laws “, was submitted to the Agodi office of the commission Sunday.
But, the PDP waved off the matter, saying the 45 seconds video had never led to any form of violence as been claimed by the ruling party.
In the petition, Makinde was accused of releasing a video in the early hours of Sunday where he “pointedly proclaimed himself winner of the governorship election in Oyo state when INEC, the authorised umpire had not concluded same nor declared any such results.”
The petition signed by the APC state secretary, Mr Mojeed Olaoya, said Makinde by the action clearly incited the citizenry against a credible outcome of the elections.
The petition reads in part, “We wish to bring to your attention the release of a video by the PDP Gubernatorial candidate in Oyo state, Engr Seyi Makinde in the early hours of Sunday, March 10, 2019.
“In the video, Engineer Seyi Makinde proclaimed himself winner of the governorship elections in Oyo State when INEC, the authorised umpire has not concluded same nor declared any such results.
“In the said video broadcast to the citizenry of Oyo state and the whole world, Mr Makinde proclaimed and declared himself as the winner of the yet to be concluded elections, thus already inciting the populace against the popular will of the people, as may be eventually declared by INEC when the final results are released.
“This is a most unconscionable act and an attempt to blackmail INEC and lawful authorities against the popular will that may be expressed in the final INEC results. Mr Makinde by his illegal broadcast has by this proclamation rendered himself liable to being prosecuted by your office for this electoral offence tantamount to a flagrant abuse of the electoral laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and INEC guidelines for elections and possibly for treason against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“By the unconscionable broadcast by Mr Seyi Makinde, he is clearly inciting the citizenry against an eventual credible outcome of the elections who may be contrary to his selfishly proclaimed victory, when he lacks the lawful authority and vires to do so.
“We are by this petition formally demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of Mr Seyi Makinde for this grave offence. We trust you will act urgently and timeously to forestall any breakdown of law and order in the state.”
However when contacted, the Director General, Omi Tuntun Campaign Organisation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said Makinde only did what any peace loving, law abiding candidate would do to ward off violence in his domain, challenging the APC to look for another allegation.
Oyelade said, “In the first place there was no breakdown of law and order traceable to the 45 seconds video by our candidate. Our candidate did what any peace loving, law abiding candidate will do to ward off violence from his domain. The governor elect said that his people have spoken and that their voices have been heard loud and clear. What is offensive in that. Let them look for another allegation.”
The Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), in Ogun state has rejected the ongoing results being announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over alleged manipulation of results in some local government areas of the state.
The APM Campaign Director General, Alhaji Sarafa Tunji-Isola announced this during a press conference at the party secretariat in Abeokuta.
Alhaji Tunji-Isola who explained that the party had notified the electoral umpire that hoodlums and unidentified uniformed men had allegedly hijacked the process described as unfortunate.
He however said despite the incident, INEC went ahead to announce the results.
The APM chieftain alleged that Abeokuta South and North, Odeda, Ifo, Obafemi/ Owode and some local government areas in Ogun East senatorial districts of the state were manipulated.
Alhaji Tunji-Isola said the efforts of the opposition party was an attempt to deny the party well-deserved victory.
He noted that APM would explore the provisions of the constitution and laws to challenge the alleged miscarriage of justice.
APM gubernatorial candidate, Mr AbdulKabir Akinlade advised his supporters to shun violence that could disrupt the process.
The All Progressives Congress APC has won twenty-three out of the twenty-six seats in the Ondo State House of Assembly in the State Assembly election conducted over the weekend.
A summary of the results released by the Ondo State office of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC revealed that the Peoples Democratic Party PDP won two seats while the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP secured one seat from Ondo West one State Constituency.
The results also showed that the Senatorial Candidate of the PDP, Chief Nicholas Towofomo also won the Ondo South Senatorial district after the supplementary election after the inconclusiveness of the election held on February 23rd.
The result has put an end into insinuations on the authentic winner of the senatorial election into the Ondo South Senatorial seat at the National Assembly.
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu has
delivered his polling unit to the candidates of the All Progressive Congress in
the just concluded gubernatorial and state house of assembly election.
At
his Gbonuza primary school polling unit, ward 9, Aniocha North LGA Delta
state,APC polled a total of 364 votes as against 329 for PDP at the
gubernatorial.
APC
also polled a total number of 473 votes as against 226 for PDP which was
considered a landslide for the state house of assembly.
Dr
Ibe kachikwu expresses his delight for the success recorded at his polling unit
and anticipates an overall success at the conclusion of the whole election.
The Kwara State Chapter of the All Progressives Youth Forum (APYF) has Congratulated the Governor-Elect, Alhaji Abdulrazak Abdulrahman; pledging the continued support of progressive youths across the State.
In a statement signed by its coordinator, Tunde Salau, the Forum notes that the journey to victory was dotted with uncertainties and risk, but that the commitment and drive of young people who canvassed both online and offline on a daily basis significantly contributed to the outcome we now celebrate.
“While the combination of several factors and the inputs of many stakeholders was largely responsible for the victory of APC at the polls; I wish to especially note that the contributions of young people, many of who sacrificed their comfort and deploy the little resources in their disposal, cannot be negated. We especially pay tribute to the young progressives who paid the supreme sacrifice in the quest for the emancipation of our dear State.
” While we are most happy with the eventual outcome of the struggle, we wish to reiterate that we, like the Governor-Elect and other leaders of the party, acknowledge the public expectations. We therefore pledge to deploy our youthful energy and talent to support the incoming government in order to deliver on its mandate.
“While we once again congratulate the incoming Governor, party leaders and stakeholders; our members across the 16 Local Government Areas, the wards and most especially our Polling Unit canvassers; we pray for God’s all time guidance as we embark on this onerous journey of turning around the fortunes of our dear State”.
