Kaduna: Delay In Local Government Results Unjustifiable … Will Not Accept Forced Result – PDP

Kaduna: Delay In Local Government Results Unjustifiable … Will Not Accept Forced Result – PDP

Zainab Tanimu

Kaduna, Northwest, Nigeria

The People’s Democratic Party has described the delay in the announcement of the Kaduna Local Government election as unjustifiable.

PDP officials and party loyalists  converged at SIECOM office for answers as well as demand for a rerun of polls in some of the local government areas.

Chairman People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) Hassan Hyat, speaking with newsmen at his residence expressed worries over the conduct of the election.

 ln his worries, he has called on the court and Tribunal to live up to expectations in the discharge of their duties in order that they can stand the test of time. The people are watching. He said.

“The court tribunal that will stand the test of time, that will call a spade a spade and return to ordinary person that acrimony that the court is the last option of the aggrieved ordinary man”  He demanded.

He lamented over what he described as the in-action of SIECOM over the disappearance and resurfacing of a returning officer whom was alleged to have tempered with the voting process. The PDP he said can only accept a just and fair result.

“Take the case of Jaba, the returning officer disappeared for more than 24hrs and the Chairman of SIECOM by right should take action and she dispatched another person to go and collate the results and make announcement and that person went and met all the ward returning officers in one place, the DPO with the EO, and the new returning officer collected all the results and made the announcement then just for the absconded returning officer to resurface with a result in his hand when he was not even there at the collation center.

He is supposed to be arrested not for SIECOM to tell us, let the tribunal decide on that. It is an act of weakness on the side of SIECOM not to be firm on issues of this nature.”

The Chairman however has categorically made it clear that PDP is ready to accept the will of the people should they find out that really the people have not voted for them rather than being manipulated. This it said will be unacceptable.

 “If we loose election through a free and fair process, l have always said it and l will repeat it, we will accept it as a verdict of the people but if we are forced to loose election through a pronouncement that is contrary to what really took place at the polling unit, certainly we will cry out and we would not accept it.”

Earlier, Chairman Igabi Local Government  while fielding questions from journalists at SIECOM premises where PDP loyalists were gathered to expressed their grievances, said election was not conducted in four wards of Igabi local government areas. In his lamentation, he said,

“What surprised us is that we had from  the  Chairman of SIECOM that election was conducted and even announced the results of the affected wards. So we are calling for Justice. Where there is no justice, we will be left with no choice than take the matter to the court.” He said.

Contributing, one of the returning officers at the Local Government election, Murtar Bashir Balarabe said in Rigasa where the election was conducted peacefully, the result was not announced there but was announced at the trade fair ground. “This according to the constitution is wrong. He said.

Already, PDP legal adviser has filed a case at the Federal High Court to seek redress for the Electoral body to declare the result.