Supplementary Poll: Kano Govt Debunks Rumours of Death, Violence

 

Kano State Government yesterday debunked rumours of death and violence during last Saturday's supplementary election where the state Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, was declared reelected.

The state Commissioner for Information, Youth and Culture, Mallam Muhammad Garba, made the denial when he spoke to journalists in his office, challenging anyone with information on those said to have been killed during the election to come forward with such information.

He also expressed disgust at what he described as concoction of lies and falsehood being spread on the social media by ‘enemies of the state’ who he alleged posted gory pictures of Jos crisis and violence in some parts of Ghana, presenting such as scenes of the Kano State supplementary election.

According to him, “The increasing negative side of the social media is gradually outweighing its usefulness," urging the public to disregard such negative images being posted on social media platforms “as Kano has remained peaceful and will continue to be peaceful.”

Garba said: "As many of you are aware, the supplementary election was very peaceful despite two incidents at polling units in Dallas and Nassarawa Local Government Areas, which were immediately resolved by security agents."

He also accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Kwankwassiyya Movement of spreading falsehood in their bid to discredit the rerun election which he described as peaceful and credible.

The commissioner further stated that “the PDP claimed two people were killed in Nassarawa LGA, we went to the area and asked questions, and there was no trace of such incident."

Garba also noted that contrary to rumours that there was protest in Kano after the announcement of the results, "what we witnessed in Kano State was jubilations as thousands of people trooped to the Government House to identify with the governor (governor-elect) over his well-deserved victory.

"Even the so called Conference of Political Parties members are all members of the Kwankwasiyya PDP. The day they gathered, we all saw that they wore red caps, and red cap as we know, is the symbol of Kwankwassiyya PDP.

“Kano State is peaceful; shops and markets are open. People are going about their businesses without molestation. We have asked our supporters to remain calm and peaceful. By God's grace, this government will continue to ensure peace, no matter how hard they try to provoke our supporters and party members."