Coalition of 28 political parties rejects Tambuwal’s victory

A coalition of 28 political parties in Sokoto State on Tuesday rejected the victory of Gov. Aminu Tambuwal at the governorship election in the state.

Our correspondent reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday declared Tambuwal winner of the election after Saturday’s supplementary polls with a narrow margin of 342 votes.

The Chief Collation/Returning Officer, Prof. Fatima Mukhtar, said that Tambuwal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured the highest votes of 512, 002, defeating his close rival Alhaji Ahmad Aliyu of APC, who polled 511, 660 votes.

Addressing a news conference in Sokoto, the coalition leader, Alhaji Musa Aliyu of the Nigeria Elements Progressive Party (NEPP), rejected the declaration.

Aliyu, the NEPP governorship candidate in Sokoto State, said that the process was flawed with irregularities and characterised by acts of violence which contravened the nation’s electoral laws and the Constitution.

“Our decision was rightly informed by the glaring fact that the elections were hugely marred by myriad of flaws, which had rendered the result of the polls null, void and unacceptable.

“We observed that the elections were characterised by massive vote-buying, intimidation, non use of card reader machines as well as the duplication of voting in polling units where the polls were earlier conducted.

“The coalition, therefore, deemed it necessary to unravel these infraction on the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, as well as INEC’s Electoral Guidelines.

“We are also in total and formidable support of All Progressives Congress (APC) action to seek legal redress,” he said.

He appealed to supporters and the entire people of the state to remain calm and law abiding, “while we patiently await the outcome of the litigation on the polls”.

Some of the delegates at the conference included Mujjitaba Aminu of MPN, Muhammad Shehu of GPN, Lawali Haliru of UPP, Dan-Ali Kasarawa of LP and Bello Ibrahim of DPP.