The Peoples Democratic Party has cautioned the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission and its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, against tampering with the declared results in 14 local government areas in the Bauchi governorship election.
It also warned that with the charged atmosphere in the state and the level of awareness attained by the electorate, any attempt to tamper with the announced results would attract serious consequences.
Bauchi is among the six states where the Independent National Electoral Commission has declared inconclusive governorship polls.
Other states, where the commission has fixed rerun elections for March 23, are Benue, Sokoto, Adamawa, Kano and Plateau.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr kola Ologbondiyan, said at a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, that the PDP was aware of alleged plots by officials of INEC to cancel results in more local government areas to increase the number of cancelled votes from 70,000 to 184, 555.
Ologbondiyan said, “INEC has been instructed by the All Progressives Congress to cancel already declared results in 230 polling units in 15 LGAs in the state to cause confusion and pave the way for the APC to manipulate the March 23 supplementary elections.
“Seeing that our party, the PDP, and our candidate, Senator Bala Mohammed, are inevitably coasting to victory, being that Tafawa Balewa is home to the PDP, the APC is instructing INEC to cancel elections in more local governments where it plans to manipulate the processes and allocate fictitious results to the APC at the March 23 polls.”
He said such a plot, which he described as wicked, would not stand, saying the people of the state had fully rallied themselves for firm resistance.
He said the PDP was in possession of a leaked document from the Bauchi INEC office, which he claimed exposed the details of the plot.
“This plot further justifies our stance that even the cancellation of Tafawa Balewa results was orchestrated by the APC and INEC in the ignoble bid to forcefully rob the people of Bauchi State of their choice of the PDP candidate, Senator Bala Mohammed, as their governor.
“It is public knowledge that by the results delivered at the polling units, Sen. Bala Mohammed was already leading with over 4,000 votes after results of 19 LGAs were collated and announced.
“With Tafawa Balewa LGA, where the PDP scored 40,000 valid votes against the APC’s 29,000, it is clear that our party won the election with about 15,000 votes, only for the results of the Tafawa Balewa LGA to be cancelled for no just cause by INEC.
“The PDP invites Nigerians to note that Tafawa Balewa result was cancelled by the state Returning Officer, Prof. Mohammed Kyari, unilaterally ruled that there was no result for the LGA even when the collation officer, Mrs. Dominion Anosike, had informed the commission that there was no incident of cancellation, violence or electoral malpractices at both the polling unit and ward levels.”
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