By Boluwaji Obahopo, Lokoja

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, Kogi State has called on the Chairman of Independent National  Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Yakubu Mahamud, to declare its candidate as the winner of the last Saturday Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency seat.

INEC had earlier declared the election in the constituency inconclusive.

According to the commission, the number of registered voters in two polling units where results were cancelled due to violence was more than the margin of win between the ADC and the runner up APC.

However, the Acting Chairman of ADC in the State, Adaji John faulted INEC for declaring the election inconclusive.

Adaji claimed the ADC candidate, Salman Idris won the election with highest number of votes, but the returning officer, Dr. Baba Ahmed refused to declare him the winner.

He said: “While Nigerians are busy praising the the electoral body, INEC for the deployment of technologies to curb irregularities, the action of Dr. Baba was more or less a fraud by absconding without declaring the winner.”

Adaji argued that there was cancellation in four polling units because of electoral violence and over voting, insisting that after collation of results, the ADC candidate won, saying “If election is cancelled, with the new Electoral Act it remained cancelled. It is not the responsibility of the returning officer to cancel results, but the duty of the presiding officer.

“We called on Professor Mahamud Yakubu to prevail on the returning officer, Dr. Ahmed Baba to declare our candidate Salman Idris the winner of Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency seat.”

However, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress,  APC,  Kolawole Matthew,  dismissed ADC’s call that the INEC issued duly signed result sheet for Kabba/Bunu//Ijumu Constituency,  saying “Result were cancelled in two other polling units due to over voting which were not collated by INEC in line with the electoral act, and everybody agreed to it. But the results cancelled in Otu Polling unit and Egbeda- Egga polling units was due to violence at the poll.

“We have video evidences of when the electoral umpire declared the election inconclusive. I wonder why the same body who early declared election inconclusive will later issue a signed result being circulated by ADC. That shows that the ADC is circulating fake result.”

He urged the ADC to approach the INEC to argue its case rather than heating up the polity with fake results.

Matthew however expressed optimism that he would win the supplementary election as those places canceled due to violence were his strong base.

The APC candidate is the present speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly.