By Innocent Anaba
The governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Zamfara State, Alhaji Sani Shinkafi, has rejected the outcome of the February 23, National Assembly election results announced in the state.
He said the election was not free, fair, transparent, violence free and acceptable, as it was full of irregularities, threat to life, intimidation, harassment by hoodlums, security agents, vigilante group, All Progressives Congress, APC, Youth Leader, who led thugs to disrupt election in Gusau with the aid of security agents.
Shinkafi said in a statement: “The outcome of the just concluded National Assembly election, to us in APGA, is the worst election ever conducted in the history of Zamfara State, under the leadership of Hajiya Asma’u Maikudi as Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state.
“Therefore, we call on the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to the removal of the REC Maikudi and the heads of all the security agencies in the state over allegations of bias and fraudulent practices during the poll.
“We also demand the immediate cancellation of the election results, the removal of the REC and all the heads of security agencies out of Zamfara State as we have lost confidence in all of them.
“We call on you as INEC Chairman to, as a matter of urgency, investigate the activities of Zamfara State REC and the staff with respect to late distribution of election materials to local government areas, wards, polling stations, in all the 14 local government areass, 147 wards, 2,516 polling stations.”
“The REC, security agents and 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.
“I went to the office of the Commissioner of Police to lodge complains but he blocked me from entering his office. He rather sent the Deputy Commissioner of Police to address us and later the Commissioner of Police came out to address us leaving the REC, APC factional State Chairman Gabdon Kaura and Sani Mono APC factional State Secretary inside his office with other security agents, who colluded to manipulate the election exercise.
“That incident has made us in APGA to pass a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the REC and all the serving heads of security agents in Zamfara State.
“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.”