The Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu has received a letter from The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expressing its displeasure over INEC’s decision to conduct supplementary governorship election in Bauchi State. The letter signed by the National Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus, was dated 21st March, 2019. In the letter, the PDP the decision of INEC to conduct a supplementary election into the governorship seat in Bauchi state contradicts provisions of the electoral act as well as the INEC guidelines for the conduct of elections.
The situation in Bauchi state regarding election into the governorship seat is becoming very messy with each passing day. The 9th March 2019 election was declared inconclusive by the INEC returning officer when the result was rejected due to the fact that results from Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area results were written on a substitute sheet instead of the approved sheet by INEC as a result alleged destruction of the INEC approved sheet by INEC.
To ascertain the true position of what actually happened at Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area, INEC set up an investigation panel led by Festus Okoye. The report of the investigation panel revealed that election took place in the local government area and the result of the election is still intact. Based on the report, INEC decided that they will continue the collation of the result and announce the result of the election of 9th March, 2019. This decision was rejected by the Bauchi State governor, Mohammed Abubakar who is the governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
Gov. Mohammed Abubakar filed a suit at the A Federal High Court in Abuja to restrain INEC from going ahead to collate the result. The court on Tuesday, 19th March, 2019 ordered INEC not to go ahead with its plan to collate, conclude and announce the results of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area for the governorship election in Bauchi State which took place on 9th March 2019. The presiding judge, Inyang Ekwo, made the order based on an ex-parte application filed by the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the incumbent governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar. The restraining order according to the presiding judge is to last till the determination of the suit brought before the court by the two plaintiffs.
The APC and Bauchi Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, had prayed for an order of interim injunction restraining INEC from resuming, concluding or announcing the result of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State in respect of the governorship election. The election was initially declared inconclusive by INEC due to irregularities in Tafawa Balewa local government. INEC later announced it would go ahead with collating and completing the results sourced from backup result sheets, a move Mr Abubakar, who scored the second highest votes in results so far collated, rejected.
The governor wants supplementary polls to be conducted. On Monday, he met with President Muhammad Buhari and vowed to challenge INEC’s volte face in court.
Based on the above, the PDP has written to INEC asking INEC to suspend the supplementary election pending the collation of results.
Highlights of the letter read thus:
“It is important to note that rerun or supplementary election can only be ripe and determined upon conclusion of collation of all the results from the 20 local government areas in the state and the margin between the winner and runner up is known.
“This is the provision of the law as provided in the regulation and guidelines for the conduct of elections, specifically paragraphs 33 (a) and (e) and 34 (e).
“By the combined effects of the paragraphs, the commission shall wait to determine the margin of lead between the two leading candidates of the governorship election after collation of the overall results of the election before deciding to embark on the supplementary poll. Hence there is no basis for a supplementary election at the polling units cancelled.”
The National Chairman of the PDP, Mr. Uche Secondus demanded the “immediate suspension of the supplementary election” until collation of results from Tafawa Balewa has been concluded.
