Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday rejected the declaration of All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate, Yahaya Bello, as winner of Kogi State gubernatorial election.
The party described as a waste of time, scarce national resources and ridiculous shadow-chasing, the action of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in declaring Bello as Kogi State governor-elect.
INEC had declared Bello, the substituted gubernatorial candidate of APC Kogi State governor-elect, after the supplementary election that took place in 91 polling units across the 18 local governments of the state on Saturday.
Announcing the result in Lokoja yesterday, Returning Officer for Kogi State Gubernatorial Election, Prof. Emmanuel Yenube Kucha stated that Bello scored 247,752 to emerge winner, while Captain Idris Wada of the PDP polled 204,877 to come second.
He stated that total registered eligible voters stood at 1,379,971, while 526,389 voters were accredited for the election.
Prof. Kucha recalled that the November 21 gubernatorial poll was declared inconclusive because election was cancelled in 91 polling units with a total of 49,953 registered voters as result of violence, stressing that the margin between the two leading candidates then was less than the total vote cancelled in the affected polling units across 18 local government areas.
He stated that the result of the supplementary election was thereafter merged with the result of the 21 November election.
Earlier, the returning officer, who is also the Vice Chancellor, University Agriculture, Makurdi, announced the result of the supplementary election, with APC polling 6,885, while PDP had 5,363, out of the 13,000 votes cast.
After careful additions of figures, Prof. Kucha read out the result of each of the 22 candidates that contested the governorship election as follows, Dickson F. Fred, Accord Party, 206; Isah Yakubu, AA, 120; Ukwuanya Musa, ACD, 480; Michael Abdullahi, AD, 168.
Others are Usman Zainab, ADC, 707; Odoluku Cosmas Shalif, APA, 1,995; Yahaya Bello, APC, 247,752; Akwu Umar Goodman, APGA, 1,040; Yinka Jerry Oloruntoba, CPP, 608; Philip Ezekiel Koleopla, DPC, 465; Abdulahi Ibrahim, DPP, 469.
Ibrahim Adejoh, ID, 179; Raji Ogirima, KOWA, 136; Dr Philip Omeiza Ozovehe Salawu, LP, 8,761, NPC 531; NNPP 290; PDC 895; Captain Idris Ichalla Wada, PDP 204,877; Emaanuel Enesi Ozigi, PPA, 3,048; PPM 239; SDP 90 and UDP 107.
He pointed out that 472,983 was valid votes, while rejected votes was 21, 740 and total votes cast was 494, 723.
“I hereby certified that I was the returning officer for Kogi State governorship election. That Yahaya Bello of All Progressives Congress, APC, having scored highest votes is hereby declared as winner,” he stressed
Kucha also stated that 3,342 votes were cancelled in four local government areas, Dekina, Ibaji, Lokoja and Omala.
But PDP agent for the election, Joe Agada raised objection as to why INEC did not display the posters of Bello and his deputy at its headquarters.
Agada also drew the attention of INEC and all officials to the fact that Bello has no deputy, following the withdrawal of James Abiodun Faleke, even as he showed a copy of the withdrawal letter.
However, INEC National Commissioner, Hajia Zainab Zakari told the PDP agent that unless the party notify the Commission, Faleke remains the deputy governor-elect.
She noted that it was a party affair and INEC has no right to dabble into it.
But reacting to the declaration, PDP said INEC, in its bid to satisfy the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC Federal Government, succeeded only in making a mockery of itself and the entire electoral process, by trying to illegally install an individual who, apart from not being a valid candidate, scored, under his name, a paltry 6,885 votes in the supplementary election as against the 204,877 votes polled by its candidate in the overall election.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh in a statement yesterday said: “The action of INEC in trying to transfer the votes earlier garnered by the dead APC candidate, Prince Audu Abubakar to another individual is completely impractical and alien to the nation’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
“The declaration by INEC that one Yahaya Bello polled the highest number of votes is an embarrassing travesty of the nation’s democracy and electoral process. Not only that this individual is not in any way a valid candidate in the election, he also did not score the overall votes declared against his name by INEC and cannot be declared winner under any circumstance within the provisions of our laws.
“The provisions of the constitution and the electoral act are clear to the effect that with the unfortunate death of Prince Abubakar Audu before the conclusion of the election, and the fact that the laws do not permit the replacement of candidates once the balloting has commenced, the APC crashed out of the race, leaving the PDP candidate, Governor
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