THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday declared the governorship election in Kebbi State “inconclusive”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the APC and PDP keenly contested the election.
The Collation and Returning Officer of the election, Prof Yusuf Sa’idu, announced the position at the collation centre at INEC headquarters Birnin Kebbi.
He said there were cancellations in 20 of the 21 local government areas of Kebbi State, cutting across several Registration Areas (RAs) in different polling units.
Prof Sa’idu said: “We aggregated the total number of collected PVCs in those polling units, and it came to 91,829. And when we checked the results, the two leading political parties in this contest, APC and PDP, polled 388,258 and 342,980 votes, respectively. When we looked at the difference, it stands at 45,278.”
He noted that they had no option but to refer to the electoral laws on page 31 of the Electoral Act 2022, section 51 sub-sections two and three for guidance.
Quoting a section of the electoral law, he said: “Where the number of votes cast in an election in any polling unit exceeds the number of accredited voters in that polling unit, the presiding officer shall cancel the election result in that polling unit.
“Sub-section three of section 51 also states that where the result of an election is cancelled following sub-section two, there shall be no return for the election until another poll has taken place in the affected polling unit.
“Under these provisions and the powers vested in me as the collation and returning officer of the 2023 gubernatorial election in Kebbi State, I, Yusuf Sa’idu of the Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, hereby declare the gubernatorial election in Kebbi State, inconclusive.” (NAN)
