Senator representing Gombe South, Bulus Amos, has called for the cancellation of the All Progressives Congress senatorial primary in the district, alleging that the electoral process was hijacked by strange electoral officers.
According to the senator’s aide and agent at Saturday’s poll, Mela Lashiru, votes were not counted but were simply allocated to each of the three candidates.
Out of 200 accredited voters, Amos polled 40 votes, leaving 70 votes for Bilyaminu Babadidi and 90 votes for Joshua Lidani – winner of the election as declared by Sani Sabo, who acted as the Returning Officer.
The agent, on Tuesday, told our correspondent that the process became compromised when an appointee of the government was left to act as returning officer, alleging that officials were summoned inside after two hours that the voting exercise was conducted.
He said, “On Saturday, May 28, Gombe South senatorial primary election of the All Progressives Congress was conducted at Billiri local government, after delegates cast their votes, security intimidated and insisted that everyone should leave the premises including the aspirants, only the three agents of the aspirants and electoral officials should remain.
“During the process of vote sorting which the agent was as well denied from holding the ballot of their aspirants, the electoral officers handled the ballots which the sorting process clearly indicated that senator BK Amos – the incumbent senator representing Gombe South, was leading.
“The electoral official and all the local government party chairmen entered a secluded room and all agents were denied access by the security. After about two hours, Sani Sabo, an appointee of the state government whose name was not among the officials to conduct the election, came out without the ballot and announced a result that was not counted.”
Lashiru added that his principal had appealed the result with a desire for outright cancellation of the results, stressing that it would be an injustice for the wish of the people to be circumvented by the leadership in the state.
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