Two Killed as APC Wins Bauchi, Kogi, Katsina By-elections
Katsina PDP rejects result
Two people were killed on Saturday as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the candidates of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) winners of the byelections held in Kogi, Bauchi and Katsina States.
However, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, has alleged that there were cases of electoral malpractices in the Bauchi South senatorial by-election.
Also, the Katsina State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has vowed to challenge the result of Katsina North senatorial zone by-election.
Alhaji Haruna Isah was declared the winner of the Lokoja/Kogi House of Representatives by-election in Kogi State.
The presiding officer, Professor Rotimi Ajayi of Federal University Lokoja while announcing the result at INEC office said the APC candidate Alhaji Haruna Isah scored 26, 860 while the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Abubakar Bashir scored 14, 845 votes to clinch the second position.
The candidate of African Democratic Congress Alhaji Mohammed Kassim Mabo came third with a total score of 2984 while a former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Umar Ahmed of Social Democratic Party (SDP) polled 2,916 votes to stand at the fourth position.
Ajayi noted that the number of registered voters during the election was 153, 470 while 51, 669 were accredited voters.
“Valid votes 48, 165; votes cast 50, 036; rejected votes 1, 871 and total votes cancelled as a result of violence were 19, 960,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Kogi State Police Command confirmed that two persons were killed during the by-election, which was marred by violence, intimidation and voting- buying.
Spokesman of the police command, Mr. William Aya confirmed the incident in Lokoja yesterday, noting that electoral violence had claimed at least two persons during the election.
He said the latest victim, who he identified as Yadau Umoru was killed at Ugwan Pawa polling unit, in front of Maigari palace while attempting to snatch a ballot box.
According to him, the corpse of the deceased has been deposited in the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja.
An unidentified man had earlier in the day been killed by a mob at the polling unit located by Abuja Electricity Distribution Company’s office in Lokoja, while also attempting to snatch a ballot box.
Aya noted that the identity of the unfortunate man was unknown. The by-election which started peacefully, with impressive turnout of voters, later became characterised by vote-buying and violence, including ballot box-snatching.
THISDAY checks revealed that the victim was killed at NEPA polling center, Lokoja just as the agents shot during the bye-election for Kogi/Koto-Karfe federal constituency.
It was also gathered that some political thugs allegedly invaded the polling centre to scatter the ballot boxes, leading to outbreak of fracas that claimed one life.
With the outbreak of violence, THISDAY learnt that officials of INEC including corps members had to run for their lives.
Among others, Chief Press Secretary to former Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. Umar Ali confirmed that two agents of SDP were shot during a session with select journalists. He said the names of the agents “are still unknown as at the time of filing this report. The two agents have been taken to an unknown hospital for treatment.”
He said they were shot inside their vehicle along Federal Medical Centre road in Lokoja.
In Bauhchi State, the APC candidate Lawal Yahya Gumau has been declared winner of the Bauchi South senatorial by-election.
The Returning Officer for the by-election, Professor Ahmed Sarki Fagam, who announced the results yesterday at the state secretariat of INEC, explained that the seven Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Bauchi, Alkaleri, Kirfi, Toro, Dass, Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa that constitute the senatorial zone had a total of 877, 160 registered voters out of which 256, 763 people cast votes in the election.
Fagam while giving the breakdown of the votes scored by each party that took in the election, revealed that the APC candidate got 119, 489 votes to beat his closest contender, Ladan Salihu of the PDP who polled 50, 256 votes.
Other candidates that participated in the bye election were the former Governor of the State, Isah Yuguda of the Green Party of Nigeria (GPN) who scored 33, 079 votes, Hussaini Umar of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), 22, 896 votes; Aminu Tukur of the All people’s Party (APP), 11, 717 votes and Maryam Bagel of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
The Returning Officer also noted that 11, 111 votes were rejected due to some irregularities.
INEC has also declared Alhaji Ahmed Babba-Kaita of the APC, as the winner of the by-election conducted in the Katsina North senatorial district.
The returning officer, Prof Hudu Ayuba-Abdullahi, who announced the result said Kaita, a member of the House of Representatives scored 224,607 votes, while his elder brother and a retired customs officer, Alhaji Kabir Babba Kaita of the PDP, scored 59,724 votes
Abdullahi said the total number of registered voters was 864,046, while the number of accredited voters was 308,500.
According to him, the total votes cast was 294,050, out of which 287,155 votes were counted as valid and 10,891 rejected.
However, the Katsina State chairman of PDP, Salisu Majigiri, made the declaration on Sunday in a telephone interview with our Correspondent.
He alleged that the byeelection was fraught with “vote-buying, coercion and other discrepancies,” which he said would be revealed at the election tribunal.
A former Minister of FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed, has alleged that there were incidences of electoral malpractices in the Bauchi South senatorial bye-election.
He made the allegation while speaking with journalists shortly after casting his vote at the Kofar Gidan Sarki Polling Unit, Dan/ Kungibar Ward, Yelwan Duguri of Alkaleri LGA of the state.
Mohammed who is a gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of PDP alleged that he got reports that the APC was inducing voters with money to vote for Gumau.
He said, “information available to me is that the APC has been inducing voters with N200 each to vote for their candidate. This information came to me from some of the Polling Units in Alkaleri Local Government Area.”