From: Ali Abare, Gombe
The Gombe State Independent Electoral Commission (GOSIEC) has declared the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of all the elective positions contested during Saturday’s council polls.
Declaring the result, on Sunday, chairman of the commission, Mr. Caleb Maina, declared that the PDP won all the chairmanship position across the 11 local government areas as well as all the 114 councillorship positions.
However, reacting on the conduct of the election earlier, ten opposition political parties under the auspices of the Coalition of Progressive Political Parties (CPPP) rejected the declared results, stressing that no election held across the state.
Briefing journalists shortly after the collation of results from the 11 Returning Officers, Mr. Maina said the election was conducted peacefully.
The CPPP on its part, while expressing its disappointment over the conduct of the election, said GOSIEC has failed in its responsibility to conduct the council poll.
Led by Hon. Idi Barde Gubana of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the coalition described the results declared by GOSIEC as “fraudulent” restating its resolve to adhere strictly to the rule of law.
“We will pursue the sustenance of our right peacefully and legitimately” Hon. Gubana said.
The opposition parties argued that no election material was taken to any polling unit across the state as well as that there was no accreditation of voters during the exercise.
While calling on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to wade into the matter with a view to investigating how public funds earmarked for the election was expended, the CPPP urged the GOSIEC to immediately refund all monies collected from candidates for the purpose of the election.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) said it expended N35 m as fees for its candidates in the election.
“Gombe State government voted millions of Naira specifically for the conduct of the election and now that election has not been conducted, we call upon the EFCC to investigate the whearabout of these monies and prosecute anybody found to have misappropriated public funds” Hon. Gubana.
Meanwhile, a constitutional lawyer, Chief Festus Okoye has called for constitutional amendments that would further enhance elections at the local government councils.
Chief Okoye spoke as leader of a team of independent election observers that were in Gombe to monitor the exercise.
He agreed there is much to be done in way of legislation in order to sanitise how elections are conducted by states to fill elective positions at the council areas.
“There’s much to be desired in terms of how states conduct local government elections. There is every need to find ways to ensure that political parties do not manipulate the process just as it has been seen across states” he said.
Daily Sun reports that most polling units visited in Gombe South were virtually empty as at 9 am Saturday morning with only electoral officers seen awaiting election materials.