The candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the Kogi Governorship Election, Musa Wada, on Monday said he would petition against the result of the election in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Yahayah Bello as winner.
Wada, who described the outcome of the election as a sham, said it was marred by violence and irregularities, and that there was over-voting in some areas while the votes of the genuine voters were not counted in other areas.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja, Wada, said it was clear that there was no election on Saturday, November 16th 2019, but a declaration and execution of war against the people.
“Of course I will go to court to petition the outcome of the election. It was a sham. What happened in Kogi was an organised war against democracy; coup against the people and seizure of power through brigandage and the barrel of the gun with members of the Police and other security agencies coordinating the stealing of the people’s votes.
“The Police aided armed APC thugs to invade polling units with impunity, shoot and kill voters and carted away ballot boxes to government facilities where results were written in favour of APC and handed over to INEC to announce against the will of the people.
“Police helicopters were used to attack polling units, fire tear gas on voters and provide cover to APC hoodlums and policemen who brutalised the people of Kogi state and stole their mandate.
“The APC turned our state into a theatre of war. No fewer than nine innocent Nigerians were killed. Many more were maimed and injured by the APC in their desperation to seize power at all cost,” Wada said.
Describing as shameful the declaration by INEC, Wada stated that the results were fabricated despite the glaring disruptions that characterized the shambolic exercise.
He revealed that INEC cancelled PDP’s votes in areas of our stronghold, subtracted from it votes in many other areas and padded the votes of APC to give a semblance of victory to the party.
Saying the people of Kogi were horrified, brutalised and dehumanized, Wada further stated that there have been weeping across the state since the announcement of another four years of Yahaya Bello.
“We therefore stand with the people of Kogi to state without equivocation that this brigandage and stealing of our mandate cannot stand.
“We will never despair but remain strong in our determination to retrieve the mandate freely given to us by the people in their desire for a change. We will pursue this course to its logical conclusion within the
confines of the law of this country.
“We commend the people of Kogi State for their resilience in the face of all intimidation. They showed, once again, that nobody can suppress their will at any time.
“Our campaign mourns our compatriots that were killed by the APC; their blood demand for justice and we will ensure that they did not die in vain.
“Above all, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, will surely account to God and the
people for the roles they played in this election; if not in this world, then certainly in the hereafter.
“We therefore call on all Nigerians to stand with the people of Kogi State at this trying time as they quest for the restoration of their mandate in this election,” Wada appealed.
