‘For fairness, equity’ — observers ask INEC to review Kaduna guber poll

A coalition of accredited observer groups has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to review the Kaduna governorship poll.

Uba Sani, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), polled 730,002 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Isa Ashiru, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, who scored 719,196 votes.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, Romanus Ugwu, leader of the coalition, said through its member organisations, 2444 observers were deployed to the 23 LGAs of the state for the March 18 governorship poll.

Ugwu alleged that the poll was “massively characterised by open vote-buying”, adding that there were reports of violence in some areas.

He said INEC “failed in meeting the parameters for credible, free, and fair elections it set for itself and promised Nigerians”.

“The election was massively characterized by open vote buying using cash, food and cloth items, most especially in Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Zaria, Igabi, Lere, Kubau, Ikara, Sabon Gari, etc,” Ugwu said.

“Though, there were some arrests by the personnel of the economic and financial crimes commission (EFCC), who handed over the culprits to the police only to be released after a short period of time.

“We have successfully gathered the names, pictures, and videos of senior government officials who were involved in this and shall make it available to the appropriate quarters when we complete our final report.

“There is no doubt that violence was the order of the day in some polling units in some of the LGAs. Like Gidan Gayan, Rigachikun, Zangon Aya, Sabon Birnin Daji wards in Igabi LGA. The election was marred by so many irregularities, flagrant and reckless cancellation of result sheets duly obtained from the polling units.

“The number of  PVCs collected in the affected areas where election was cancelled are well above 70,000 against 10,806 votes recorded as the margin of lead of the declared winner of the election.

“In this obvious circumstance, with the provision of section 51(4), we align with the position of the agent of one of the party in the sense that the returning officer should have tarried a while and declare the gubernatorial election inconclusive, so as not to disenfranchise over seventy thousand voters, cut across the state.

“The conduct of some INEC staff especially at the ward and local government levels was ignominious and a betrayal of the people’s trust in them. They willfully connived with politicians and compromised the process disgracefully.

“Results of election peacefully conducted at the polling units and result sheets uploaded on the IReV portal were willfully cancelled at the ward and local government collation centres.

“Some collation centres literarily became more like cancellation centres. For example, election result from the entire Kukui and Aribi wards of Kagarko local government area and all that of  Kauran Wali North and Garu inwards in Kudan LGA were cancelled when their results were declared and posted on the IReV before taking it to the collation centre.

“Also polling units in Saulawa, Kuya, Anchau wards, etc. in Ikara local government were cancelled without any justifiable reason.”

The observers added that in the “spirit of fairness and equity”, the election should be reviewed.