The African Democratic Congress ADC has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC to declare candidate of the Party, Arc. Salman Idris winner of the election for Kabba-Bunu Ijumu Federal Constituency House of Representatives election.
The party in a statement by Hon. Tunde Akanmidu urged the commission to do the right thing.
The attention of the ADC House of Representative Elect, Arc. Idris Salman has been drawn to a fake news making round on the social media and other various news platform as a joke taking too far and a fake news that should be disregarded by the entire good people of Kabba-Bunu/ Ijumu federal constituency.
Ordinarily, as a party, we would have ignored the fake news but for the good people of Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency who have spoken with their votes, it then has become imperative to correct the misleading, jaundiced and parochial position of the defeated APC candidate. It is an inconvertible fact based on the electoral act that when there is an over voting or crisis in any polling unit, such result should be cancelled. which is exactly what the INEC has done by cancelling the unit 005 in Iyah-Ayeh in Otu ward of Kabba/Bunu LGA,and in unit 006 Ogale Aduge of Ijumu LGA, all in Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency.
One is now surprised at the verdict of the returning officer, Dr. Adams Baba who declared the process inconclusive, despite the fact that the acclaimed unit 005 in otu ward and unit 006 in Ogale Aduge had earlier been cancelled where all party agents and INEC official signed the cancellation form.
The position of the Law is clear that once an election from any unit or ward has been cancelled, no INEC official can declare a re-election except by the intervention of the court of law since it has been cancelled. This has been the situation across the nation where similar cancellation has been done without a call for rerun. One is now wondering why that of Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency would be an exemption.
We therefore call on INEC to do the right thing acceptable within the law by declaring the Reps elect, and present the certificate of return to Arc. Idris Salman of ADC, the duly elected candidate, having scored the highest votes of 13,867 as against the defeated candidate of the APC who scored 13,605 without further delay in tandem with the result sheet that was duly signed, stamped and presented to all political party agents by INEC.
It is an inconvertible fact that once a duly signed and stamped election result has been issued to a winer, you don’t return later to call for a kangaroo re-election. As a party, we want to believe that INEC should be an unbiased body, and so we therefore call on the INEC chairman to investigate the actions of Dr. Baba, the INEC officer so that such a shameful action will not repeat itself in the nearest future to avoid ridiculing the electoral body that may warrant communal crisis.
We call on the good people of Kabba Bunu Ijumu federal constituency to remain calm and peaceful as we ensure that our mandate is returned. We further express our sincere thanksgiving to the good people of Kabba-Bunu/ Ijumu federal constituency for their overwhelming support.
We urge them to remain calm while we await the presentation of the certificate of return to our duly elected house of rep member, Arc. Salman Idris of ADC.
