…NNPP candidate wants Kogi West senatorial election canceled
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday declared Idris Salman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the winner of the election for Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency in Kogi State.
The INEC Returning Officer, Dr Adams Baba, announced the results in Kabba.
INEC had, on February 26, declared the result of the constituency inconclusive because of the difference between the margin of win and voided results in two polling units.
INEC was, however, able to resolve the numbers and declared Salman as the winner of the election with 13, 867 votes to beat the incumbent Speaker of the Kogi House of Assembly, Matthew Kolawole.
Kolawale, who contested on the platform of the APC, got 13,605 votes, while Olaiya Olobatoke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 10,967 votes.
Baba said: “Idris Salman of ADC, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared [the] winner and is returned elected.”
In a related development, the Kogi West senatorial candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the February 25 National Assembly election, Hon Muhammed Ibukun Abubakar, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the election for the district.
This is contained in a petition he sent to INEC, a copy of which was obtained by our reporter.
The petition, which was prepared by the candidate’s legal team, A.O Musa & Co, has Hon Sunday Karimi, the APC and INEC as first, second and third respondents respectively.
The petitioners averred that the 3rd respondent’s contravention of the Electoral Act, particularly without limiting it to section 42 of the act, robbed the petitioner of its right to be voted for in the election.
The 1st petitioner, Muhammed Ibukun Abubakar, claimed to have the right to be voted for having met the requirements of Electoral Act.
INEC had announced Karimi, the first defendant, winner of the Kogi West senatorial elections.
However, the petitioners, Ibukun and NNPP, averred that INEC technically and unlawfully excluded the 2nd petitioner from the ballot papers used for the election on the 25th February, 2023.
The petitioners also submitted that INEC contravened the Electoral Act when she placed on the ballot paper a different logo, symbol and identity of the NNPP in contradiction to the logo, symbol and identity of the party.
The petitioners argued that INEC caused confusion to the electorate by making it difficult to identify and vote for the party’s candidate.
“The petitioners aver that the actions of the 3rd respondent caused a lot of pandemonium such that, one of the agent of the petitioners draw the attention of the media on duty to the anomaly on the 25th February, 2023 at polling unit 011, ward C, Lokoja.
“The petitioners aver that the 3rd respondent contravention of the Electoral Act, particularly but without limiting it to section 42 of the act, robbed the petitioner to its right to be voted for in the election.
“The law is settled that where a candidate/party was unlawfully excluded from the ballot paper, the only available remedy is to cancel the election and conduct another one,” the petition read in part.
They prayed to the electoral umpire that justice and fair play should be exhibited in the election and electoral process, by canceling the polls and giving the date for a rescheduled election.
