Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Zamfara State, Alhaji Sani Abdulahi Shinkafi yesterday, demanded the removal of the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Hajiya Asmau’ Sani Maikudi and the heads of all the security agencies in the state ahead of the governorship election.
Shinkafi who made the call at a press briefing said he has formally petitioned the INEC chairman and heads of security agencies alleging bias and fraudulent practices against the REC and security agencies.
The gubernatorial candidate also declared that his party rejects the results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections conducted in the state on February 23, 2019.
Addressing newsmen he said, “Gentlemen of the press I am constrained to address you on the outcome of the just concluded National Assembly election conducted on 23rd February, 2019 which we in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) see as the worst election ever conducted in the history of Zamfara State, under the leadership of Hajiya Asma’u Maikudi as Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Zamfara State.
“We reject the outcome of the 23rd February, 2019 National Assembly election results announced in Zamfara State in its totality. The election was not free, fair, transparent, violence free and acceptable. It was full of irregularities, threats to life, intimidation, harassment by hoodlums, security agents, vigilante group ‘YANSAKAI’. APC youth leader lead thugs to disrupt election in Gusau with the aid of security agents.
“We demand the immediate cancellation of the election results, the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hajiya Asmau’ Sani Maikudi and all the heads of security agencies from Zamfara State as we have lost confidence in all of them.”
He warned that the party would resist any attempt from any quarter to rig the governorship and state House of Assembly elections in connivance with security agents.
Read Also:
He called on the INEC chairman to investigate the activities of the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Zamfara State and the staff in respect to the late distribution of election materials to local government areas, wards, and polling stations in all the 14 local government areas, 147 wards, 2516 polling stations respectively.
“The Resident Electoral Commissioner, security agents and the All Progressives Congress (APC) state leadership met a day to the elections in the Commissioner of Police Office without representatives from other political parties and perfected plans to rig the elections in favour of the APC. The failure of Commissioner of Police to invite other political parties clearly showed he is biased,” he alleged.
Shinkafi further narrated how he was refused entry into the office of the Commissioner of Police to lodge complaints. He added that the police commissioner sent the deputy commissioner of Police to address them.
“That incident has made us in APGA to pass a vote of no confidence on the leadership of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, and all the heads of security agents in Zamfara State,” he added.
He declared, “We reject the National Assembly results as declared by the INEC Commissioner, because the whole process violated the Electoral Act 2010 as amended and INEC laid down rules and regulations guiding the system.
“The election conducted in the state was marred by irregularities, late distribution of election materials to local government areas, wards, polling stations, 80 per cent non-supply of result sheets to collation centres, ballot snatching, manipulation, alteration and allocation of results by ruling APC in connivance with INEC officials, security agents, and local government sole administrators, to subvert the true aspiration of our people,” he added.
The APGA governorship candidate noted that” even in wards where there were incidence of armed bandits that prevented the voting process, it would interest you to know that based on intelligence reports we were informed by our party members from the polling stations, wards and local government area that the APC leadership in collaboration with INEC staff and security agents had submitted concocted election results.
