By Boluwaji Obahopo & Kingsley Fanwo

LOKOJA — Hundreds of women, yesterday, took over the office of the Independent National Election Commission, INEC, in Lokoja demanding that All Progressives Congress (APC) be declared winner of the Kogi governorship election.

Faleke and late Abubakar Audu

This came as supporters of the party besieged the INEC office in Abuja demanding the commission shelve its proposed supplementary poll in the state and declare Faleke as governor-elect.

The women protesters, dressed in black, carrying different placards, vowed not to vacate the place until INEC rescinded its decision and put things aright.

A detachment of policemen from the nearby state police headquarters kept close watch to forestall a breakdown of law and order because of the already tense situation in the state occasioned by the ‘inconclusive’ poll.

Spokesperson of the women, Mrs. Folashade Joseph, accused INEC of plunging the state into political turmoil and uncertainty, by declaring the victory of the duo of Prince Abubakar Audu and James Faleke of the All Progressives Congress (APC), inconclusive.

She said: “INEC created the problem and must hasten to solve it. We are here to register our grievances about INEC’s declaration that the election was inconclusive, and to let them know that they are the ones that have created this problem now.

“INEC wants to deliberately set Kogi on fire, for reasons best known to it. We have over 2,400 polling units in Kogi State. We do not understand why INEC will say the election is inconclusive because of just 91 polling units that had issues.

“We are going to sit out here till INEC reversed itself and do the right thing. They must announce Audu/Faleke. They won for APC, they have a joint ticket. We are calling on well-meaning Nigerians and the President who is our father, to wade in, so that the right thing can be done.”

Speaking at the Abuja INEC office, one of the protesters who is a lawyer, Hajia Halima Alfa said Audu had won the election before his death, noting that the margin between the two leading parties was more than the number of voters with PVCs in the affected polling units and that INEC erred by not declaring the late Audu as the winner of the election.”

“INEC was not sincere with democracy and the Kogi people. Only 25,000 voters have PVCs in the 91 polling units where elections were cancelled. Going by the 41,000 margin with which the APC was leading, the party had won the election.

“We are in a situation in which even if all the 25,000 voters cast their votes for PDP, the election had already been won by the Audu/Faleke ticket. INEC should not toy with the destinies of the over 500,000 people that voted during the election. Faleke should therefore be declared the governor-elect of the state”.

Vanguard gathered that majority of the protesters were supporters of the deceased politician and his running mate, Hon. Abiodun Faleke.

It would be recalled that INEC declared the Kogi governorship poll inconclusive before the demise of Audu. The commission said there are about 49,989 votes to be contested for.

The APC has also replaced the late politician with Alh. Yahaya Bello who came second during the August 29 governorship primary of the party.