By Mohammed Nasir Shuaibu (Bauchi State Correspondent)
The All Progressives’ Congress (APC) in Bauchi State, has described the results declared by the returning officer which gave victory to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, governor Bala Muhammed, as cooked-up and characterised with irregularities.
Abdulmumuni Kundak, the party’s agent for the Governorship election told the journalists after refusing to sign the result sheets that the results are unacceptable. He claimed that they were marred by irregularities.
The Returning Officer, Prof. Abdulkarim Mohammed, a Vice Chancellor, Federal University Dutse, Jigawa State, said Bala Mohammed won in 15 of the 20 Local Government Areas with 528,280 votes while his closest rival, retired Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) won in Giade (where he hails from), Gamawa, Darazo, Katagum and Misau with 432,272 votes.
However, after the Returning Officer wrote the results in Form EC 8, the APC agent, along with others were invited to sign, but Kundak refused to sign, alleging that the results were questionable.
“I won’t sign the results because I am not satisfied. I’m not sure this is the genuine result. It is a cooked up result. I have made several alerts before everyone here. I won’t sign, except if they will hold my hand and force me to sign,” Kundak declared.
“Why should I sign the results? I didn’t sign because we are not joking with our stand. When I discuss with my candidate, we will know what we’ll do. I don’t accept this and I will forever not accept it,” he insisted.
“There were many irregularities which I raised before the Returning Officer, but they refused to hear what I was saying. How can you send your staff to go and conduct an election and bring the results to you without allowing the witnesses to also come along when the results are being presented?”, he queried.
Meanwhile, the APC, in a petition addressed to the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the State, alleged that there was massive rigging, violence and electoral malpractices, and thus, called for the cancellation of the results of the election in five LGAs.
The party also demanded that after the cancellations, the election should be declared as inconclusive, so that a re-run can hold.
The petition, which was signed by the APC Legal Adviser, Rabiu Garba, reads: “We hereby complain of the massive rigging, violence and electoral malpractices committed which marred the Bauchi State Governorship election conducted on March 18, 2023 in Alkaleri, Kirfi, Toro, Warji and Zaki Local Government Areas.”
The party noted that in some Polling Units where the party’s supporters were many, such as Alkaleri LGA, “APC Polling Unit Agents were chased away by PDP thugs who took over the control of all the Polling Units and thumb-printed ballot papers without accreditation, and results were written without election. APC members were disenfranchised and molested by violence.
It will be recall that it had earlier been reported that the Returning Officer of the Gubernatorial election in Bauchi State, Prof. Abdulkarim Mohammed, announced Governor Bala Mohammed as the winner, disclosing that the sitting governor secured the highest number of votes. NNL.
