Sokoto State governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko

By Mohammed Aminu

Former Sokoto State governor, Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is back to his seat following his victory in last Saturday's governorship election.

But the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the governorship election, saying the process was marred by irregularities and ballot box stuffing.

According to the official results, Wamakko polled 518,247 votes to defeat the ANPP candidate, Alhaji Yushau Ahmed Muhammad, who scored 131,048 votes.

The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) candidate, Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu Yabo, who came third, scored 7,323 votes, while the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) candidate, Senator Illa Gada, polled 4,056.

Wamakko recorded 71.8 per cent of the total votes cast and also won in all the 23 local government areas of the state.
The ANPP and CPC candidates were defeated by Wamakko in their local government councils.

The total number of votes cast was 728,108, with 684,490 valid votes and 43,618 voided.

Declaring the results at Sultan Muhammad Maccido Institute of Quranic and General Studies last night, Chief Returning Officer, Prof. Abdullahi Zuru, described the election as “transparent and credible”.

“Based on the powers vested in me and having satisfied the requirements of the law, I hereby declare Wamakko as the duly elected governor of Sokoto State,” he said.

Congratulating the governor-elect, President Goodluck Jonathan said Wamakko's victory was a demonstration of faith in the PDP for the governor-elect’s sterling performance in his first term and charged him to use his second tenure to further positively impact on the lives of the electorate.

In a statement by the Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, Jonathan said: “The President urges Alhaji Wamakko to seize the opportunity of the fresh four-year mandate which he has been given by the people of Sokoto State to continue the very laudable development programmes, especially the popular rural development schemes that were initiated during his first term which have had a very positive impact on the populace.

"President Jonathan prays that God Almighty will grant Alhaji Wamakko another successful term of office in the service of the people of Sokoto State and the nation".

Speaking to THISDAY shortly after the result was declared, the PDP State Secretary, Alhaji Aminu Bello, described Wamakko's victory as “well deserved”.

He attributed the victory to the giant strides recorded by Wamakko in the last five years.

Meanwhile, hundreds of ANPP supporters Sunday protested the conduct of the election, saying the process was marred by irregularities and ballot box stuffing.

The irate youths, who staged a protest along Maiduguri road, also decried the intimidation of voters by alleged PDP thugs during the election.

They described the poll as a sham and an act of injustice meted out to the opposition in the state. 

The state chapter of ANPP called on INEC to cancel the election.

The party also rejected in its totality the result that might have been declared by INEC.

Addressing journalists in Sokoto, the ANPP governorship candidate, Muhammad, maintained that the party rejected the election because the process lacked credibility and was not transparent.

"The ANPP has rejected in its entirety whatever results that would be declared by INEC because the whole process was faulty," Muhammad said.

“The voting process in over half of the polling units in the state was marred by violence and ballot stuffing while less than 10 per cent of voters participated in the election," he added.

He accused the Police Commissioner, Alhaji Baba Adisa Bolanta, of conniving with the PDP by allowing thugs to move around, despite the restriction order on movements.

The ANPP candidate pointed out that armed PDP youths were moving around harassing people at the polling units and also carted away ballot boxes in many councils.

He further alleged that government officials were moving from one place to another, despite the restriction on movements by the police.

He claimed that some ANPP agents were kidnapped in some areas, while 18 agents were injured in Illela council and were currently receiving treatment at Usmanu Danfodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.

He further said ANPP agents in Illela and Gada Local Government Areas were arrested and detained by the police and subsequently sent back to Sokoto metropolis during the election.

“We are calling on INEC to, as a matter of urgency, cancel the election and if it refused to do so, we will decide on the next action to take,” Muhammad added.