The PUNCH reports that the state INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Lawal Suleiman Bilbis, from Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto, had announced that Sani polled 730,002 votes while his closest rival, Isah Kudan of the Peoples Democratic Party scored 719,196 votes.
Bilbis had added that the Labour Party governorship candidate, Jonathan Asake polled 58,283 to come third while the New Nigeria Peoples Party candidate, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, came a distance fourth with 21,405 votes while rejected votes stood at 19,114.
However, while addressing a press conference in Kaduna on Tuesday, the state chairman of the PDP, Felix Hyet, described the APC victory as a “daylight robbery.”
He alleged that INEC was complicit in denying the people of the state what they actually voted for, and was inconsistent in declaring results.
“You will recall my press conference yesterday, March 20, 2023, during which I demanded the use of authentic results from the INEC Result Viewing server as the only accepted results for declaration of governorship in our state.
“This was because the lack of transparency from INEC officials was glaring and justice will not be done.
“Our fears were confirmed last night when the State Gubernatorial Returning Officer, Prof. Lawal Suleiman Bilbis, used the questionable results to declare Sen. Uba Sani of the APC as elected with 730,002votes against 719,196 votes allocated to our Candidate, Rt. Hon. Mohamed Ashiru of the PDP.
“The PDP rejects this result and the declaration of Sen. Uba Sani as winner of the governorship elections of 18/03/2023 in our dear Kaduna state.
“May I seize this opportunity to sincerely thank our numerous supporters and the good people of Kaduna state for the mandate they have given us and want to assure them that the PDP will not leave any stone unturned in the quest for re-claiming their mandate.
“We have commenced actions necessary and in accordance with the law with a view to arrest this glaring broad day robbery against the people of Kaduna state by APC government and its collaborators.
He added that the party would take legal action on the matter with accordance to the laws of the land.
“Certainly, there are different ways of taking action but all would be according to the laws of the land.”
When asked whether the party would protest the just concluded polls, Hyet, a former Aviation Minister, ruled out protest, saying “we have rejected the result and we would take all measures that are lawful to reclaim the mandate of the people of Kaduna State.”
“The system of collection of result was very untidy and unreliable. Figures kept on being charged. At that time we said people had gone to Lere again, and to Kudan. To ascertain what? Another result or what? Therefore whatever we have seen and whatever that have been declared, we feel it is allocated.
“This is because since INEC has server, that result had gone into that server and this server is under INEC control and custody. There is no reason why INEC will not make use of the authentic result in its server to avoid this broad day robbery that has been meted on the people of Kaduna state,” he said.
He called on supporters of the party to remain calm, law abiding and prayerful.
