INEC chairman playing APC script -PDP
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday declared the Benue State governorship election inconclusive.
The commission said its decision was based on statistics it gave that 121,011 voters were either not able to vote or election did not hold in their areas.
The state returning officer, Mr. Sebastian Maimako, who stated this in Makurdi however announced that final results from 23 local government areas showed that the incumbent governor and candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Samuel Ortom got 410,576 votes while his opponent, Mr. Emmanuel Jime of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 329,022.
The margin is 81,554 votes.
The details are as follows
OJU LGA: APC, 19,061; PDP, 13,110; OBI: APC, 9,696, PDP, 9,055; GWER WEST: APC, 7,292, PDP, 14,375; OGBADIGBO: APC, 9,018, PDP, 8,518; GWER EAST: APC, 14,582, PDP, 19,596; USHONGO: APC, 14,589, PDP, 22,351, OHIMINI: APC, 8,470; PDP, 7,304; AGATU: APC, 7,538, PDP, 9,935; APA: APC, 8,460, PDP, 8,429; OTUKPO, APC, 21,530, PDP, 12,903, TARKA: APC, 16,919, PDP, 2,975; UKUM: APC 11,725, PDP, 22,540; KATSINA-ALA: APC, 21,614, PDP, 17,980; ADO: APC, 7,711, PDP, 7,258; GUMA: APC, 8,869, PDP, 28,479; GBOKO: APC – 28,540, PDP – 36,186 MAKURDI: APC – 35,967, PDP – 29,232; LOGO: APC – 4,552, PDP – 30,152; BURUKU: APC – 13,215, PDP – 29,141; OKPOKWU: APC – 8,372, PDP – 8,297; KWANDE: APC – 22,783, PDP – 29,048; VANDEIKIYA: APC – 18,579, PDP – 27,124; and KONSHISHA: APC – 9,940, PDP – 16,588.
In Bauchi, the returning officer, returning officer for the state, Prof. Mohammed Kyari, who announced the inconclusiveness of the election said the total registered voters were 2, 323, 603, while the accredited voters stood at 1, 056, 729.
He said the PDP, Mr. Bala Mohammed got 469, 512 votes to defeat his closest rival and incumbent governor, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar of the APC who polled, 465, 453 votes.
He added that the total valid votes were 1, 026, 901, rejected votes , 21, 419 while and total votes cast, 1, 048, 220.
The returning officer gave three reasons for declaring the poll inconclusive.
“First, that the margin of lead between the PDP and APC Candidates is 4, 059 votes.
“Secondly, the number of cancelled votes even without that of Tafawa Balewa local government area which he had earlier cancelled was 45, 312.
“Thirdly, the total number of registered voters in the affected areas is 139, 240.”
He added: “Therefore, based on Section 26 Part 53 of the Electoral Act, I hereby declare this result inconclusive.”
He, therefore, directed INEC in the state to immediately conduct a re-run in the affected areas within 21 days.
The results of 19 out of 20 LGAs were so far announced by the various collation officers.
And in Plateau State, the APC candidate and incumbent governor, Mr. Simon Lalong, led with 583,255 votes in 11 local governments, while the PDP candidate, Mr. Jeremiah Useni, received 538,326.
Given the 44,929 margin of lead and the total number of cancelled votes at 49,377, the returning officer for the state, Prof. Richard Kimbir, who spoke at the state INEC headquarters, stated that the election was inconclusive.
“Going by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, I am constrained to say that the election to governorship election is inconclusive. In 21 days, supplementary elections will be conducted.”
The total number of registered voters was put at 2,480,455, while accredited voters was 1,147,025.
The total number of valid votes was 1,138,987 with 16,691 rejected votes, resulting in 1,154,678 total votes cast.
According to the results presented before Kimbir between Sunday and early Monday morning, Lalong triumphed in Jos East, Kanke, Kanam, Mikang, Pankshin, Bokkos, Mangu, Jos North, Wase, Qua’an Pan and Shendam.
Useni, on the other hand, won in Barkin Ladi, Langtang South, Langtang North, Jos South, Riyom and Bassa.
In Jos East, Lalong polled 18,602 votes, while Useni scored 7,994. The APC candidate also took 15,150 votes in Mikang, while his PDP counterpart got 11,703.
The results in Kanke showed that the APC candidate scored 23,360 votes against PDP’s 22,831. Lalong took 108,887 votes in Jos North while Useni had 67,113.
In Bokkos, the APC polled 26,219 votes while the PDP scored 25,363. Also, in Pankshin, Lalong had 35,769 votes against Useni’s 24,788.
In Kanam, the APC candidate won 54,394 votes as his close rival in the PDP gained 21,956. Lalong also had 44,964 votes in Mangu with his PDO counterpart taking 40,035.
The APC candidate also scored 37,593 votes in Wase, while his PDP counterpart got 27,485.
In Qua’an Pan, the ruling party took 31,962 votes against the PDP’s 20,939.
Similarly, the incumbent governor got 61,646 votes in Shendam while Useni got 17,035.
Useni, however, won with 17,644 votes in Langtang South where the APC candidate scored 13,495.
In Langtang North, the PDP candidate got 40,519 votes, while the Lalong had 18,979.
Also, the PDP polled 44,233 votes in Barkin Ladi, while the APC scored 17,039. In Jos South, Useni also gained 91,846 votes against APC’s 33,075.
The PDP candidate scored 24,017 votes in Riyom while the APC got 12,720. In Bassa, Useni had 32,825 while Lalong got 29,401.
However, the PDP reacted to the inconclusive election pronouncement by INEC accusing the commission’s chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu of overtly playing the script of the Buhari Presidency and the APC by declaring governorship elections in states where the PDP is in clear lead as inconclusive.
Addressing the media at the party’s secretariat on Monday, APC spokesman, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan said “under the leadership of professor Mahmood Yakubu, has become overtly partisan, surrendered its independence to the APC and carried on as a compromised umpire with obnoxious impunity, thereby sending signals of being heavily bribed by the APC to alter results for its candidates.”
The party which called for Yakubu’s resignation said:
“The PDP has full intelligence of how INEC is acting on instructions from the Buhari Presidency and the APC in orchestrating unwholesome situations and declaring already concluded governorship elections in Sokoto, Adamawa, Bauchi, Plateau as well as other states as inconclusive, immediately it becomes obvious that the PDP was set to win.
“This also informs the foisting of unexplainable stoppage and delays in the announcement of already collated results in other states where the PDP is clearly leading the race, from the results so far declared at the polling units.
“Our party has also been informed of how INEC is now seeking ways to use the situation to aid the APC to alter the results and announce APC candidates as winners in the elections clearly led by the PDP just as it did in the 2018 Osun State governorship election.
“In some of the states like Rivers, the PDP has information of plots by APC to leverage on the declaration by INEC to unleash more violence in the state and push for isolated election where they can bring in more security forces to concentrate on forcefully taking over the state.
“Already, in Rivers State, INEC is under heavy pressure from the Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organization and Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, to post out and replace the State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) as well as the Administrative Secretary.
“This will be totally unacceptable, completely provocative and shall be firmly resisted by the people even if the totality of our nation’s security is deployed to Rivers State. This is more so as results of all the state assembly elections in Rivers state have been declared and winners had emerged.
“The PDP cautions Prof. Yakubu and his INEC to perish the thoughts of altering any figures for the APC and to immediately announce our winning results in these states and others where our candidates clearly won, going by the results already declared at the poling units, wards and local government collation.
“Anything short of this will attract the legitimate wrath of the people. This is because Nigerians are already aware that elections have been concluded in these states; results have been collated and declared at the polling units, ward and local government collation centers and all returning officers and political parties conclusively have the figures. Prof. Yakubu must have noted how his name is becoming synonymous to electoral manipulations, among Nigerians, and the fact that our citizens and international community hold him responsible for the rigging of the Presidential and other elections for the APC.
Today, majority of Nigerians and the global democratic institutions are questioning the state of our democracy and electoral processes, which have been under siege under the supervision of President Buhari and Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
In the light of these INEC’s manipulative tendencies, PDP therefore charges our leaders, teeming members and lovers of democracy in the affected states to immediately commence a march to INEC offices and use all legitimate means to protect our mandate as freely given by the people at the polling units across the nation.”
