Bauchi: Dogara wants INEC to intervene in governorship election impasse

SELYA YARNAP, Bauchi

The Speaker House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has called on INEC Chairman, Mahmoud Yakubu to intervene in the election crisis rocking Bauchi State.

Dogara lamented that declaration of  election as inconclusive in the state by INEC was a brazen rape of the mandate of Bauchi State.

Addressing a press conference at the NUJ Secretariat on Monday in Bauchi  Dogara also called on the state Governor Mohammed Abubakar  to surrender the mandate of the people in the state at this point that he has already lost the election .

The Speaker alleged that the cancellation of election in Tafawa Balewa local government by the state Returning Officer, Professor Mohammed Kyari, was illegal and orchestrated to oppress the people of the state.

According to him, the Governor had on several occasions referred to him as a light weight politician whose constituency could only deliver nothing more than 70,000 votes, saying that incumbent Governor boasted that he won his election in 2015 with 300,000 votes and does need a single vote from Tafawa Balewa local government to become a governor.

Dogara added, “I want the media to ask the governor, will it therefore not amount to an act of unprecedented shamelessness for him to go now to Tafawa Balewa, my constituency with only 70,000 votes that he does not require, to go and campaign for thier votes or to Illegally source from votes from there, to make up and become a governor”

“If there is any honour on his part, having declared that he doesn’t need one single vote from there, I think, honour demands that he should surrender at this point that he has lost this election”.

Also, he alleged that apart from the illegal cancellation, INEC in the state was still sourcing for other units that they will cancel even after they have collated and declared the results as they are not sure of what will happen in Tafawa Balewa during the supplementary election.

According to the Speaker,  the election was peaceful, free and fair at the unit level as attested to by the local government Returning Officer, alleging that they only challenge they encountered, was that political thugs of Governor Abubakar invaded the local government Collation Centre  and carted away some result sheets.

The speaker was flanked by the PDP Governorship candidate, Bala Mohammed, state party Chairman and other party stalwarts.

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