The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the outcome of the Bagwai/Shanono State Assembly rerun election in Kano, which was won by the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), describing the exercise as a “charade.”
At a press conference in Kano on Sunday, key APC stakeholders led by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, alleged that the poll was marred by widespread violence, ballot snatching, and voter intimidation orchestrated by NNPP supporters.
Ata claimed that “thousands of armed thugs, recruited from Kano and neighbouring states, invaded the constituency as early as 5am on election day, scaring away voters and hijacking ballot materials in favour of the NNPP candidate.”
He further alleged that despite early alerts to security agencies, the violence was not curtailed before voting commenced, leading to mass voter displacement as residents fled to nearby local government areas.
“No election took place in Shanono/Bagwai. Voters were disenfranchised, traumatised and chased away from their homes by NNPP thugs,” Ata said.
The APC insisted that its strong presence in the constituency and the turnout at its campaign rally, led by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, indicated it would have won the seat in a free and fair contest, just as it did in the Ghari/Tsanyawa by-election held the same day.
The party has therefore called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the result and conduct a fresh election, while urging security agencies to prosecute all those arrested for electoral violence.
“The integrity of our democratic process is paramount. We owe it to future generations to defend it,” the APC stressed.
