APC Challenges INEC For Declaring ADC Winner Of Constituency Election In Kogi

Architect Salman Idris, the All Progressives Congress candidate for the Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency in Kogi State in the National Assembly Elections on February 25, has rejected the outcome of the election.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the African Democratic Congress as the winner of the federal constituency election on Monday.

However, Architect Salman Idris, through his campaign council has insisted that the process that produced the winner didn’t follow the provisions of the law.

In a statement signed by Adesayo Ismail, Director General of the Campaign Council, the APC candidate referred to the INEC pronouncement as electoral fraud.

The collation officer, Dr. Adams Baba, declared the constituency election inconclusive on February 26. But, he had a change of heart on Monday and proclaimed the ADC candidate the election’s winner.

In reaction to the development, a statement from the APC in Kogi state read, “We (APC) campaign council is surprised the way a supposed electoral umpire who should not be partisan and could have carried out its duties in line with the relevant laws suddenly turned around at the middle of the game due to alleged inducement to make a such pronouncement.

 “The purported declaration in Kabba yesterday is fraudulent. The electoral act and INEC regulations as well as 2022 election guidelines are clear on issues of voting especially when the lead margin is not more than the PVC collected in the affected polling units.

“Where the margin of lead between the two leading candidates in an election is NOT more than the total number of voters who collected their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) in Polling Units where elections are postponed, voided or not held in line with Sections 24(2 & 3), 47(3) and 51(2) of the Electoral Act 2022, the Returning Officer shall decline to make a return for the constituency until polls have been conducted in the affected Polling Units and the results collated into the relevant forms for Declaration and Return.”

The statement concluded, “It is unheard of that a reputable commission like INEC could not hold on to its earlier stand of holding supplementary elections in line with the commission regulations and guidelines, 2022 since elections were cancelled in some polling units.”