Skip to main content

INEC declares Nasarawa/Toto federal constituency by-election inconclusive

Tanko-Al-Makura, Governor Nasarawa Sate

Tanko-Al-Makura, Governor Nasarawa Sate

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday declared that the just concluded Nasarawa/Toto Federal Constituency by-election inconclusive due to cancellation of votes as a result of over voting.

The Constituency Returning Officer of the election, Dr Wilfred Uji of Federal University, Lafia, Nasarawa State, made this known while announcing the outcome of the poll in Nasarawa, Nasarawa Local Government Area of the state.

Uji cited Section 53 of the Electoral Act which gives the commission the power to cancel election in polling units where there is over voting.

“For Nasarawa/Toto federal constituency, we have a total number of 202,338 registered voters for the election out of which 76,475 were accredited and the total vote cast was 75,826 and we have 74,848 valid votes and the rejected votes stand at 978.

“The cancelled votes taken from the vote cast stand at 39,150 and the four political parties that participated at the by-election scored the following votes, APC scored 46,559; PDP scored 17,068; APGA 11,181 and Labour party (LP) got 40 votes.

“The marginal difference between the APC and PDP is 29,491, and the cancelled votes is 39,150, so the cancelled votes exceeded the marginal difference between APC and PDP as a result of over voting in some polling units of the constituency.

“Based on the relevant laws guiding the commission, we hereby order for a rerun in the affected polling units on Wednesday, June 1 in order to get a winner and such decision has been taken in the interest of peace,” he said.

Also speaking, the Supervising Resident Electoral Commissioner for the election, Prof. Habu Zarma, urged the stakeholders of the political parties to cooperate with the commission in order to have a peaceful rerun.

“The rerun is just to serve as a second chance for the electorate to choose a leader of their choice and we hope that a winner will be declared during the rerun election,” he said.

While speaking with newsmen, Alhaji Mohammed Musa and Mr Ayuba Wandai, the Sole Administrators of Nasarawa and Toto local government areas of the state, respectively, expressed optimism that APC will come victorious during the rerun election.

They called on the supporters of the APC to remain peaceful, law abiding and come out en masse to vote for the party during the rerun election.

Reacting on the rerun election, Mr Adamu Abubakar, the APC Returning Agent for the election, said that as a law abiding party, APC has agreed with the decision of the INEC in good faith.

“We are already leading other political parties with a lot of gap and we are optimistic that our great party, APC, will win the rerun election,” he said.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC fixed May 28 for the by-election for the Nasarawa/Toto federal constituency following the death of Rep. Musa Baba-Onwana.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Houthis Claim Attack on Central Israel in Response to Gaza ‘Massacres’

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has taken a concerning regional turn as the Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility for an attack on central Israel. The group announced this as part of their escalating response to what they describe as "massacres" in Gaza amid the Israeli military’s operations in the strip. Details of the Attack The Houthis, a Shiite militant group with ties to Iran, declared that they launched missile and drone strikes targeting Israel. While the exact impact of these attacks remains unclear, reports suggest that Israel’s defense systems intercepted several threats over its airspace. This marks a significant escalation as the Houthis widen their involvement in the conflict beyond their typical operations within Yemen and neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Houthis’ Justification In their statement, the Houthis framed the attack as retaliation for Israel’s military actions in Gaza, which they characterized as indiscriminate bombings resultin...

Fire: UniJos Senate convenes emergency meeting on Monday

Fire at the University of Jos Library University of Jos is to convene an emergency senate meeting on Monday to review the level of damage done to the institution by the Saturday night inferno. The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sebastian Maimako, disclosed this on Sunday after inspecting areas affected by the incident. The fire, which lasted for more than six hours, destroyed the Library Complex that equally houses the faculties of management and social sciences. The fire also destroyed examination scripts, books and very crucial materials. Consequently, the vice-chancellor said “the Senate will meet tomorrow (Monday) to take a decision about the unmarked examination scripts that were burnt.” On the cause of the inferno, Maimako said investigation had commenced, adding that “nothing has been confirmed yet. We are still investigating.” The vice chancellor said the school was already working with federal authorities toward establishing a main fire station since the mini fire station in t...

UK gets new prime minister Wednesday

Britain Home Secretary Theresa May to be officially unveiled as UK’s new Prime Minister on Wednesday David Cameron is to step down as Prime Minister on Wednesday after Prime Minister’s Questions. Theresa May will succeed him. An eurozone’s top official says it’s important that Britain’s next prime minister gets on with sorting out the implications of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union as soon as possible, reports Associated Press. Speaking after it became apparent that Theresa May could replace David Cameron as soon as this week, Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the next British prime minister will have to “find solutions for the Brexit which has been causing a lot of problems particularly for the U.K., but also for Europe.” He said that the “sooner we can sort out this problematic situation the better.” Dijsselbloem spoke ahead of a meeting of the eurozone’s 19 finance ministers in Brussels. Though Britain’s decision to leave the EU isn’t a primary topic of discussion, the ...