Members of the All Progressives Congress, ((APC) in Jema’a local government area of Kaduna state have given the Kaduna State Independent Election Commission (KADSIECOM) a 24 hour ultimatum to rescind its decision and announce APC candidate, Hon. Yuhanna Barde as duly elected or face resistance from the people.
The members who invaded the Commission’s headquarters located on Sokoto Road in Kaduna capital, condemned the development which they viewed as “a calculated mischief and partisan after thought” among other things to express their ill feelings.
According to them, there were evidences to show that the election was peaceful hence there was no need to declare the exercise inconclusive.
The group leader, Sanusi Maikud, APC leader of Jemaa LGA, gave the ultimatum at a press he addressed to this end.
In his words, “We hereby give SIECOM Twenty Four Hours from 8.00 AM of Monday 13th September 2021 to Tuesday 14th September 2021 to withdrew their illegal, unjustifiable and baseless claims that the Saturday September 4th 2021 Jema’a Local Government Election was inconclusive.
“We are collectively shocked beyond imagination by the calculated mischief, partisan afterthought and shameless attempts of day light robbery of our hard-earned and uncontestable victory of our great party, by summersault of the Kaduna state Independent Electoral Commission who after declaring Comrade YUNANA MARKUS BARDE winner has turn around to falsely claim that the said elections were inconclusive six days after declaration of results.
“As far as we are concerned, the truth and the whole truth backed by incontrovertible evidence is that local government elections held peacefully and orderly in the twelve electoral wards of Jemaa Local Government area on the September 4, 2021.
“The results were collated at the various wards collection Centres by the SIECOM appointed wards returning officers in presence of the agents of all the political parties, security officers, journalists and election observers from the civil society organizations.
“The results of ward election were then conveyed to the Local Government Secretariat that served as Local Government Collation Centre where the Local Government Returning Officer Rev. Dr. Sunday Ibrahim received and recorded them in turns as they trickled in under the watchful eyes of the APC, PDP agents, Security Officers from the Nigeria Police Command, The Department of Security Services, The Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and journalists”.
Speaking further, Maiku said the Returning Officer after diligently collating the various results consequently declared Comrade Yunana Markus Barde as the winner and thus returned him as duly elected Chairman of Jema’a local Government Council on Sunday 5th September 2021.
To this end, he disclosed that “we have the duly signed Kaduna State SIECOM Local Government Summary Result Sheets from the wards and the declaration of results of election of the office of chairman as well as copies of results from the various wards of the local government area.
“We therefore want to use this opportunity to assert that contrary to falsehoods by SIECOM that the SEPTMBER 4TH Local Government Elections were inconclusive, that the said local elections were duly conducted, collected and collated and the results announced and winners declared by the duly appointed returning officer. There is no dispute as to who the winner of that election is.
“For the sake of the records we wish to inform the Kaduna State SIECOM and its Officials particularly the Chairman that they are not at liberty to alter results from the comfort their office. We hereby reject her desire to unilaterally impose her whims and caprices on the esteemed Local Government electorates who have exercised their democratic franchise.
“We also wish to state categorically that even though Malam Nasiru Ahmed El-Rufa’I, the Executive Governor of our dear State has shown high level political maturity and democratic sophistication by allowing for free and fair election whereby the votes of the electorates count and did count,which enabled the opposition win some seats, this does translate into a guarantee for SIECOM to think and act irresponsibly outside the laws establishing it.
“Accordingly, we hereby reject the illegal, bankrupt, and discredited attempt by SIECOM to declare the Jema’a Local Government Election as inconclusive.
We stand resolutely by our declared victory and will defend our hard earned victory to its logical conclusion.
“While rejecting the illegality of the SIECOM illegal revisionism, the Electoral body should know that neither Kaduna State nor the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a jungle where might is right, we are a nation of Law and order.
“The observance of Rule of LAW”, he declared “is not negotiable” stressing that “the Nigeria Electoral Law is very clear that once Results are announced only a court of competent Jurisdiction can reverse it”.
Condemning the political development the more, Sanusi Maikud viewed SIECOM’s action as “shameless attempts of day light robbery of the party’s mandate”.
