Bauchi residents jubilate
Ime Akpan
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday announced the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Bala Mohammed as winner of the Bauchi State governorship election.
The announcement was followed by a statement by the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) governor, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, congratulating his successor and “inviting the governor-elect to join me in working out the process of a smooth transition.”
Announcing the results around midnight on Monday, INEC’s returning officer for the state, Prof. Kyari Mohammed said the governor-elect polled a total of 515,113 votes to defeat Abubakar who got 500,625 votes.
The returning officer said there were 2,462,843 registered voters but 1,143,019 were accredited to vote.
He put the valid votes at 1,111,406 saying 22,566 votes were rejected.
“I, Prof. Kyari Mohammed, declare that I was the returning officer of the election in Bauchi State and Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed of the PDP, having satisfied the requirements of the law and having scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared winner and is returned elected.”
The results show that Mohammed won overwhelmingly in seven local government areas out of the 20 while Abubabakar on the other hand, won in 13 council areas with slimmer margins.
It would be recalled that INEC, had on Monday resumed the collation of results of the contentious Tafawa Balewa local government area of the state, after Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Ekwo, who ordered INEC to halt the collation of the results of the local government in his March 19 ruling, dismissed the suit filed by Abubakar and the APC challenging the decision of INEC to resume collation of results of the state’s gubernatorial election.
He therefore gave INEC the go-ahead to with the collation and announcement of governorship election result held on March 9.
The commission resumed collation at 4pm on Monday.
Abubakar, in a congratulatory message signed by his spokesman, Mallam Ali Ali, wrote: “I congratulate my brother, Senator Bala, on this victory at the poll.
“I am delighted to note that in spite of the intensity of the campaigns in our dear state, a peaceful election took place without bloodshed.”
“Let me therefore invite the governor-elect to join me in working out the process of a smooth transition.
“I sincerely thank the entire people of Bauchi State for their support to my administration and urge them to extend the same to the incoming administration.
“I also urge the governor-elect to caution his supporters to be law abiding while celebrating since the period of campaigns is now over.”
There was wild jubilation by residents of Bauchi on Monday night as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the governorship candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Bala Muhammed, the winner of the gubernatorial race in the state.
Bauchi residents ecstatic about the news
There was jubilation up till the wee hours of Tuesday as Bauchi residents thronged the streets and major highways in the state capital, chanting ‘Sai Kaura’ (Bala Mohammed), eulogising the governor-elect.
NAN reports that the jubilant crowd danced ecstatically to the pulsating rhythm of music coming from giant loud speakers.
One of the celebrants, Miss Aisha Usman, said they were celebrating the outcome of the final result as declared by INEC, adding that God had answered their prayers.
“We are celebrating the outcome of the results of the election as INEC has finally declared the man of the people, Senator Bala Muhammed, the winner of the governorship race.
“This is what we have been praying for and God has answered the prayers of the masses,” she said.
Another celebrant, Miss Abigail Haruna, said the governor-elect is a good man, with high spirit of patriotism, hence, their unwavering support for him.
She expressed optimism the new governor would not disappoint the people of the state.
Another resident, Mr. Ismail Raji, said the people of Bauchi had voted for the change they desired, adding that the effort had yielded dividend.
“I am very happy that I am witnessing today that the change we wanted has been actualized.
“I thank God that the final result favoured the Peoples’ Democratic Party and Senator Bala Muhammed in particular; Bala Muhammed is the change we wanted in Bauchi state,” he said.
