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THE All Progressives Congress, APC, wants the total cancellation of the governorship election results in the 11 local government areas of Taraba State affected by irregularities. The party does not also want a fresh election to hold under the supervision of the current security and staff of the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, alleging that “they have shown sufficient evidence of bias and complicity in the April 11 election.”

“Alternatively, the result of the entire state should be cancelled and a fresh election conducted. This is in view of the widespread irregularities in most of the local government areas of the state.”

Addressing journalists at the APC headquarters in Abuja, on Thursday, April 16, John Odigie Oyegun, national chairman of the party, said Senator Aisha Al’hassan, the APC’s governorship candidate, was confident of victory if the re-run election would be conducted in a free and fair atmosphere.

“I will say that appeal has been made to INEC that the kind of cancellation that are being undertaken are superficial whereas the transgression during the electoral process are of such magnitude that there are only two possibilities. Either the election in Wukari and Sardauna is totally discountenanced and fresh election held or the totality of the election in that state should be redone,” he said.

Giving details of the alleged malpractices during the governorship election in the state, Al’hassan said elections did not hold in accordance with the INEC guidelines in many Wards cutting across many local government areas.

She listed the affected local government areas to include Wukari, Kurmi, Yorro, Karim Lamido, Ardo Kola, Sardauna, Zing, Bali, Lau, Donga and Takum.

She, therefore, urged the INEC to immediately launch a probe into the conduct of the April 11 governorship election in the state to ensure that the rights of the people of the state to choose their leaders were not compromised by conniving INEC officials, security and desperate PDP members.

In his reaction, Emmanuel Bello, commissioner for Information and Strategy in the state, claimed that the allegation against the state acting governor was not only wrong but also an act of desperation by the APC, who were afraid of defeat by the Peoples Democratic Part, PDP.

— Apr. 27, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT

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