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The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate have filed petitions challenging the outcome of the March 18 governorship poll in three states.
New Telegraph reports that the leadership of the party is challenging the outcome of the election results in Kano, Plateau, and Rivers states.
The Kano State Chapter of the APC has filed a petition before the Kano Election Tribunal challenging the emergence of Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) as governor-elect.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Yusuf as the winner of the just concluded gubernatorial election.
The final results announced by the returning officer, Professor Ahmad Doko Ibrahim, said Yusuf polled 1,019,602 while the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, polled 890,705 to come second.
Gawuna had conceded defeat and congratulated Yusuf a week after the announcement of the final results.
However, the APC in a five-volume petition is alleging that Abba Kabir Yusuf was not qualified to contest the election on the grounds that his name was allegedly not in the list of members of NNPP sent to INEC.
However, the gubernatorial candidate of the APC, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, was not joined as a party in the petition as the parties involved are the APC, the petitioner and the other hand NNPP, Yusuf and INEC as 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively.
The APC also alleged that the NNPP did not win the election with the majority of lawful votes, arguing that some of the votes cast for them were invalid and if removed from their scores, APC will have the highest number of votes cast.
The party said the Kano Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) was wrong for declaring Abba Yusuf the winner, arguing that the margin of lead was not higher than the votes cancelled, arguing that the election ought to have been declared inconclusive.
The petitioner is asking the court to declare APC as the winner of the election.
The respondents have 21 days to respond to the petition after the court processes are served on them.
Similarly, the APC governorship candidate in Plateau State, Nentawe Yilwatda, has filed a 400-page petition against the state’s governor-elect, Caleb Mutfuwang of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), at the election petition tribunal in Jos.
In the petition, Nentawe predicated his petition on three grounds.
He claimed that Caleb Mutfwang was not qualified to contest the election, arguing that he should be disqualified for “non-compliance” with the Electoral Act.
The APC governorship candidate who is the first petitioner also contended that Mutfwang was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast during the election, among others.
Nine candidates that participated in the March 18 governorship election in Rivers State have filed a petition at the tribunal challenging the outcome of the March 18 polls.
INEC had declared the candidate of the PDP, Sim Fubara, who scored 302,614 votes as the winner of the election, but opposition parties were not satisfied with the outcome of the polls.
Those who have filed a petition at the tribunal are Comrade Beatrice Itubo (Labour Party), Tekena Iyagba (Boot Party), Innocent Ekwu (APM), Etete Sobere (PRP), Gabriel Gborogbosi (Action Alliance), Magnus Abe (SDP), Pastor Tonye Cole (APC) and Dumo Lulu Briggs (Accord Party).
One of our correspondents reports that 12 senatorial candidates, 26 House of Representatives candidates, and 20 House of Assembly candidates have equally filed petitions at the tribunal.
Source: NewTelegraphNG.com | Read More
