The Independent National Electoral Commission’s election declaration naming Senator Uba Sani of the All Progressives Congress as the state’s governor-elect has been rejected by seven governornship candidates in the State.
According to The PUNCH, in a statement released under the banner of the “Rescue and Rebuild Gubernatorial Candidates Forum,” the candidates stated they would not accept the results because of widespread vote cancellations in many of the state’s jurisdictions.
Before Saturday’s governor’s race, the nine gubernatorial candidates all backed Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Isah Kudan.
They are Young Progressives Party, Allied Peoples Movement, Action Peoples Party, National Rescue Movement, Action Alliance, All Progressive Grand Alliance, and the Action Democratic Party.
During a joint press conference in Kaduna on Wednesday, the group’s leader and YPP governorship candidate, Ambassador Sanin Yaya, said they would use the services of legal practitioners to fight their case till the INEC did the right thing.
He said, “We wish to address you all and other loyal voters in the state on the purported election result declared by INEC which is unacceptable to us and many as well.
“A call on INEC to do the needful on the purported result announced which declared the APC Candidate as winner in the just concluded election.
“On this, we wish to refer you to the Electoral Act 2022.”
He added, “Again, we wish to state clearly that in many polling units in all the local governments Form EC40G were filled by Returning Officers and the number of registered voters who collected their Permanent voters Card in these polling units are more than the margin of lead/win in the governorship election in Kaduna state.
Yaya stated that INEC should postpone the declaration of the governorship election results in the state until a supplemental election is held in the polling units where elections were annulled.
He added, “As well, in every massive cancellation of election result conducted in many polling units during the governorship election in almost all the local governments in the state, especially in Kudan LGA where the election results in two Wards were not entered in the collated governorship election result despite the fact that election was conducted in the polling units of the two wards and the result posted on INEC Result Viewing portal.
“Therefore, our position is that INEC has been compromised by the ruling party despite the fact that they are an umpire that is entrusted to hold a free, fair and credible election.
“We the under-listed political parties are calling on INEC to adhere to the rule of Law, to with immediate effect cancel the governorship result declared earlier.
“Accept the assurances of our effort to save Democracy while we await INEC’s immediate action.”