Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto
The Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently declare the winner of state governorship election held last Saturday.
Tambuwal stated this yesterday at a press briefing in Government House in Sokoto.
He frowned at the decision of INEC to declare the election inconclusive where the winner of the election is clear.
The governor said: “If you look at the decision of INEC, no cogent reason was given; they only relied on technical ground.
“This is the mandate the people of Sokoto freely given us based on the confidence and trust they have in our government.”
He promised to test the decision in law court which he said would not hold water since there was no advance reason or legal backing in taking the decision.
The governor added that according to section 179 subsections 2 of the Nigeria Constitution as amended, he has met all the conditions to be returned elected.
He said the Chairman of INEC, Prof Yakubu Mahmoud, has a name and reputation to protect, and should not allow himself to be used by external forces to truncate the country’s nascent democracy.
“Look at the trend in Nigeria, it is ‘inconclusive’ from Adamawa to Bauchi, to Plateau to Sokoto States,” Tambuwal added.
He used the opportunity to thank the Sokoto people for giving him their mandates which he attributed to trust and confidence reposed in his government.
Tambuwal said when he assumed office in 2015, he promised to tackle the issue of ‘street boys’ which has made Sokoto violence-free, adding that that was why the election was violence free.
He further said if rerun is conducted at any day, he was optimistic of winning the election.
