The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Yekini Nabena, says since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has question to answer, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should forget the dream of taking over the governorship seat of Bauchi state.
Nabena, in an interview with journalists on Monday in Abuja, also picked holes in the INEC’s decision on the status of People Redemption Party (PRP) House of Representatives candidate in Bauchi’s Katagum Federal Constituency.
He said the election in the constituency “should have been declared inconclusive since the number of cancelled votes, 5,211 is more than the margin of lead which is 4,704.”
Nabena said if not that there was a grand plot to rig out Governor Mohammed Abubakar, how come APC won 21 State House of Assembly seats compare to PDP’s 5 seat in the state in the election conducted on the same day?
He said the reported non usage of Smart Card Readers in Bauchi Local Government Area “is a major issue that should not be disregarded by the electoral empire.”
He said the PDP knew that if rerun election was held, it would lose the election to APC.
“Maybe the opposition felt that if that position had not been taken by INEC, they would have won. But that is not the issue. The issue of election is not about winning or losing. It is about having a free and fair election.
“So, it is the free and fair conduct of the election that matters to all of us and to the whole world. I say so because if the election is not free and fair, there will be no issue of inconclusive; it must be concluded. So, we are challenging the INEC not to give PDP undue advantage in Bauchi governorship election,” he said.
Nabena, who justified the need for rerun in election at the Tafawa/Balewa LGA, said the Returning Officer for the area, Mrs Dominion Anosike, told the world how she was intimidated and harassed while collating the results.
“She was even threatened. They threatened to rape her. She was a woman and she said it herself. The answer is there. There was tension everywhere in the place and she was forced to sign the document under that atmosphere,” he added.
When asked what gave him confidence that APC will win the rerun if held, the APC national officer said: “I believe APC will win because APC has won 80 percent of the other elections except this election and this one has been declared inconclusive.
“Mark you, the results of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area has not been announced. But I tell you, you will be surprised if the result had been announced.
“We certainly would have won, that is why they are trying to deny us of the victory. If the hoodlums had not disrupted the process at the centre, we would have won Tafawa Balewa. So I believe we will win Tafawa Balewa again.”
On the already declared Katagum Federal House of Reps result in favour of PRP, Nabena described it as an error on the part of the INEC.
“It is a clear case of inconclusive election because the margin between the PRP candidate and the APC candidate is less than the cancelled votes. So, we are demanding justice if INEC is not deliberately against the APC. “
