The Chairman of New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kano State, Umar Doguwa, has told the All Progressives Congress (APC) to seek redress in court if they are not satisfied with the outcome of Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
NNPP’s Abba Kabir Yusuf was declared winner of Saturday’s governorship election in Kano State, claiming the first governorship seat for the over 20-year-old party.
The protegee of the presidential candidate of the party and former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, garnered 1,019,700 votes against his closest challenger and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir Gawuna, who got 890,705 votes.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, Doguwa said that the victory of the NNPP is credible, telling the opposition to accept defeat and stop playing to the gallery.
“For somebody to come and start saying that maybe INEC shouldn’t have done what they did, if he cannot accept the results, let him go to court. But for him to come and start arguing and maybe trying to do things that will jeopardize the peace of the state, I don’t think that is the right thing”
“You know what is happening is not surprising, because that is what should have happened normally when you defeat somebody in a war. People are still complaining, that is what they do, that is what they say, I’m not surprised, I am assuring you that this victory came from hard work, tenacity, and real politicking”
“It takes real pain from the heart to accept defeat in an election, somebody that really has human feelings is one that will accept that defeat as a genuine one, what the APC is doing in kano is just playing to the gallery,” Doguwa said.
The Kano NNPP Chairman also said that the opposition claims of rigging is a means of excuses to seek for an inconclusive declaration by INEC.
“Where is the rigging, what is it that want that we didn’t do, it’s a normal thing in Nigeria in politics when they fail an election, they come up with excuses, for me the election is clean and clear, if anyone has issue let him go to court”
“I know Nasir very well, I know him very well, I was his chairman, I know what he can do, all these he is doing are just play cards, he can play it very well, he didn’t win in his ward, he didn’t win in his polling unit,” he said.
Meanwhile the APC in the state has insisted that the election was marred by irregularities and violence which they said are enough reason to call for a rerun.
The Legal adviser for the APC in Kano State, Abdullahi Fagge, who was also a guest on Sunrise Daily, said his party is not satisfied with the results and are going on a peaceful protest to demand a review of the results.
“Election is a process, one of the issues is how the election was conducted, the issue of the results that was collated,
“It is clear that the results presented by INEC had a wide margin of lead between the two contestants. And it is clear that there were irregularities and violence which resulted in cancellation of these results in some places.”
Abdullahi also alleged that the results presented by the returning officer were fraudulent and that a rerun should be granted.
“The results presented by the returning officers had abnormalities in almost all the 44 local governments from what INEC presented and with this, it is clear that there is need for a rerun.
“The elections ought to be declared inclusive, ought not to be declared, that is why we are calling for a protest.”
He added that they have written a letter to INEC for a review and that they want the protest to achieve their demand.
