Police Arrest Kano Dep Gov, Commissioner for Alleged Disruption of Election …PDP warns against manipulating governorship election results

 

The Kano State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, and the state Commissioner for Local Government, Murtala Sule-Garo, were arrested at the wee hours of Monday for allegedly trying to disrupt the collation of the election in Nassarawa Local Government Area of the state.

Also, the Chairman of Nasarawa Local Government Area, Alhaji Lamin Sani, was also arrested by the police.

This is coming as the state Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, on Monday warned on the dangers of manipulating the governorship election result.

However, the police are yet to respond to the arrest of the deputy governor as at the time of filling this report, but sources closed to the police in the state confirmed that the police would issue statement over the incident soon.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state has adjourned collation of the state governorship election results of Nassarawa Local Government Area over the alleged attack on collation centre at about 1:30 a.m.

The state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. Riskuwa Arab-Shehu, said this yesterday after the collation of result from the 43 out of the 44 local government areas (LGAs) of the state.

The INEC commissioner said the suspension was necessary because of the security challenges report the commission received from the last LGA left to announce the governorship election result.

According to the REC, the result was snatched away from the collation centre, adding that the electoral body will refer to its primary and secondary data base to generate the result from polling units and wards.

He also explained that INEC will generate the result, verify and consider those that are acceptable within the electoral law.

Professor Arab-Shehu added that party agents would be invited for verification of the results to ensure transparency during the regeneration of the results.

THISDAY in Kano recalled that 43 local government areas results have been released out of the 44 in the state, and prior to the attack at the centre in the night, Nasarawa Local Government Area result was the only one awaiting collation.

Meanwhile, the state Chairman of PDP, Mr. Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, has warned on the dangers of manipulating the governorship result, saying: “No one could predict its adverse effects.”

Bichi told journalists at INEC office in Kano on Monday that he called on the state Returning Officer to declare PDP winner pending the completion of just one unit out of the 11 since 10 are available.

He called on INEC to take precedence from a similar case in Ekiti State when the results of the winning party was announced pending the result from just a single unit.

However, the state REC at a press briefing on the outcome of the paused collation, declared that the disrupted results of the Nasarawa LGA shall be regenerated from the polling units to complete collation.

Earlier, 43 out of the 44 local government areas in the state have been collated except Nasarawa LGA, and the PDP is leading. The collation process was suspended as hoodlums attacked the LGA collation centre and disrupted the process.