The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Katsina State has rejected the results of the Saturday governorship election held in the state, saying it will “reclaim” its “mandate” in court.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the APC governorship candidate in the state, Dr Dikko Umar Radda, as the winner of the election.
The Returning Officer, Prof Muazu Abubakar Gusau, said the APC candidate polled 859,892 votes to emerge winner while Senator Yakubu Lado of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came second with 486,620 votes.
But addressing newsmen yesterday in Katsina, the chairman of the PDP Campaign Council in the state, Senator Umar Ibrahim Tsauri, said, “A lot of irregularities have taken place in the sham that took place on Saturday, but since there are constituted authorities, we will follow all legal means to reclaim our mandate.”
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Similarly, the DG of the campaign council, Dr Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa, said, “It was a clear act of wickedness, electoral malpractice and condemnable attempt to destroy our democracy.
“Even before the elections, we have told the world how the ruling party was planning to use all forms of coercion, including using security forces, to rig the elections.
“Our position as a party and as a council is that we have rejected the results of the massively rigged election and we will never accept it and we are going to court to challenge the entire exercise.”