Gov
Yahaya Bello of Kogi State yesterday emerged as the candidate of the
All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Nov. 16 Governorship election.
But one of the aspirants who challenged Bello for the ticket described
the processes that produced the governor as candidate of the party as
“mockery,” saying the national headquarters of the party should cancel
the primary election and organize another one.
Gov. Abubakar
Badaru of Jigawa State said Bello emerged winner of the governorship
ticket by polling 3,369 votes to beat eight other aspirants who
contested the governorship primaries conducted by the party in Lokoja.
Badaru
who led the electoral panel that conducted the process, announced that
Mr Babatunde Irukera came second with 109 votes; while Rep. Hassan Bewa
came third with 44 votes.
According to him, Yahaya Audu, the
younger brother of former Governor Abubakar Audu scored 10 votes, Sani
Abdullahi polled seven votes, and Abubakar Bashir got three votes. Gov.
Badaru also said that Mrs Blessing Ekele, Mrs Hadiza Ibrahim, Mr Yakubu
Mohammed and Mr Danlami Mohammed scored zero votes. According to Badaru,
3,596 accredited delegates voted during the primary election out of
which 54 votes were declared invalid.
But speaking to Daily
Trust, Yakubu Mohammed said what transpired in Lokoja undermined
acceptable democratic practice, saying the aspirants were kept in the
dark. “We were not given the list of delegates; we were also not given
clearance certificate to show that we would be part of the process. This
is a disgrace to Kogi State. “In fact, there was no communication
between the national headquarters of the party of the aspirants; we have
never have it so low in Kogi.
They earlier disqualified some of
us, then they said they have qualified some of us to contest. We came
for the election but the delegates were denied opportunity to cast their
votes; it is somebody who will cast the vote for you. They all cast the
votes for Bello,” he said. Asked if he will go to court, Mohammed said,
“I am not going to any court; I will leave them with their shame but
the national headquarters should do the needful to save the par
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