Kebbi APC seeks removal of Governorship election Returning Officer

By Taofeek Lawal

The Chairman Kebbi State publicity Committee for the state Governorship Campaign Council, Alhajl Kabiru Sani Giant, has appealed to the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Yakubu Mahmoud to relieve the State election Returning officer, Professor Yusuf Saidu of the Usmanu Danfodio University of his duties.

 Giant alleged that Saidu has been biased, sentimental and taking side with other political parties during in pronouncing the Governorship election inconclusive.

He made these allegations while speaking with newsmen in Birnin Kebbi on the role Professor Saidu  played in the on concluded Governorship election.

According to him, '"the removal of the Collation Officer will bring sanity to the re-run of the said elections. The APC in the State is not comfortable with the Collation Officer due to his alliance with the other political parties"

He  claimed that the APC Governorship candidate, Dr. Nasir Idris Gwandu, won the election convincely with large votes and that Professor Saidu ought to have  declared  him winner of the governorship election instead of declaring it inconclusive.

"We are  urging  INEC’s Returning Officer Professor Yusuf Sa’idu who on Monday  last week, declared the results of the Kebbi State Governorship election as inconclusive due to what he said was cancellation of polling unit results in 20 LGAs out of the  21 local governments to be changed or removed from his position and a new Officer assigned for the next re-run elections" he said. 

Gaint who is also an APC chieftain and National Coordinator of Tinubu/Shettima 2023 said that the results from the election showed that APC’s candidate, Alhaji Gwandu, polled 388,258 while his closest rival, PDP candidate Major General Aminu Bande (rtd), polled 342,980 votes. 

"There is no need to declare the election inconclusive. Our candidate won the election free and fair. He is leading with 45,278 votes. In some states, candidates were declared winners when the margin was a fraction of that. There is no need for a supplementary election.

 “INEC cancelled election results in some polling units because of overvoting and violence. Remember, the PDP candidate’s wife heads a department in INEC. It was also PDP that triggered violence in some of the polling units because they knew those areas are our strongholds" .

He explained further that despite all the PDP insinuations,  "we are still very comfortably ahead. Even if the  supplementary elections is to hold tomorrow, we are confident of increasing our margin of victory because all the areas where the polls were cancelled are our strongholds.

“I urge INEC to immediately declare our candidate as the winner of the election so that the people of Kebbi State, like those of most other states will have peace of mind and go about their normal lives."

He also called on INEC to investigate the Wife of People's Democratic Party (PDP) Gubernatorial candidate over her role in using fake ballot papers, fake INEC officers ID and other INEC materials which were smuggled in the just concluded Governorship and State Assembly elections.

He allaged that the PDP Governorship candidate's wife collaborated with some staff and used fake INEC election materials during the elections, revealing that some printing press were used in printing the said fake INEC materials.