PDP describes Kano, Katsina polls as 'wholesome mockery of electoral process'

macfranc007 February 12, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Nigerian newspapers 24/7 Onyirioha Nnamdi

- The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), recently said that the Kano and Katsina polls was poorly conducted

- The party claimed that the manner in which the elections were conducted in the states showed that the APC cannot win any credible election

- Kola Ologbondiyan, the national publicity secretary of the opposition party in a statement said that the PDP still has a massive followership in Nigeria

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Sunday, February 11, decried the manner in which the recent Katsina and Kano local government elections were conducted.

The opposition party said: “The resort to primitive cheating and deployment of heavily armed security forces to muscle votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in last Saturday’s House of Representatives bye-election in Katsina State has further shown that President Muhammadu Buhari and his party have completely lost popularity among Nigerians, even in the President’s home state”, The Independent reports.

The party also referred to the Kano state local council election as being fraudulent in nature, adding that it was characterized by outright cheating, open underaged voting and ballot stuffing. The PDP described the development as "a wholesome mockery of electoral process."

In the opinion of the opposition party, the conduct of the APC in the two elections demonstrate that the APC cannot win any free and fair election, even in their supposed stronghold.

Kola Ologbondiyan, the party's national publicity secretary, in a statement said the victory won by APC in the House of Representatives election in Katsina state was filled with a lot of irregularities.

Ologbondiyan said: “The fact that the APC had to recourse to brute force and allocation of ballots to gain votes in the bye-election in Mashi/Dutsi Federal Constituency, which ordinarily should have been for them, a walk in the park, being President Buhari’s constituency, shows that the party has pathetically lost it all.

“The fact that the PDP still held a legitimate 22,690 votes against the 30,719 fraudulently allocated to the APC, despite the use of force and other brazen infractions by the APC, shows that PDP is the natural winner of the election.

“It further strengthens our resolve that our party, the PDP, still commands a genuine followership among Nigerians.

“We however invite Nigerians and the international community to mark how the APC and its controlled Federal Government are corrupting our electoral system, by using force to intimidate the people and steal their votes.

“The APC is also corrupting security officials to use maximum force as a desperate measure to save President Buhari, whose popularity had dipped across our nation.

“In their desperation to help the President, the APC in cahoot with the inept Presidency declared war on the people by ensuring the deployment of over 1000 heavily armed and hostile security operatives for an election that held in only 15 polling units within two local governments of Katsina State.

“It is unfortunate that the APC has recoursed to worst kind of intimidation and violations twelve calendar months ahead of the general elections.

“Currently, the PDP is compiling a comprehensive documentary evidence of infractions and irregularities including barring of legitimate voters from accessing polling centers, assigning of polling units to APC government functionaries, indiscriminate arrests of opposition members and supporters, underaged voting and allocation of votes for APC as well as conflict between results from the polling units and collation centers among others.

“Also being compiled is the identity of the security and electoral officials used by the APC to subvert the will of the people, which will be made public while ensuring that they are prosecuted.

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“The clear message to the APC is that the will of the people will prevail in 2019 as Nigerians will never allow the shameful impunity and suppression witnessed in Katsina and Kano during last Saturday’s election as they will be fully rallied to resist such across board.”

The PDP however urged its members in Katsina and Kano to remain calm as it takes decisive but legitimate steps to reclaim their stolen mandate.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had earlier reported that voters in five polling units in Fagge local government area of Kano state were on the queue till about midday due to late arrival of voting materials on Saturday, February, 10.

A few of the voters, who spoke with newsmen at the Fagge ‘B’ polling unit, decried the late arrival of the materials.

What must President Buhari do to regain the trust of Nigerians? - On NAIJ.com TV