The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kano has rejected the outcome of the Tsanyawa/Ghari State Assembly re-run election, vowing to challenge the declared victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in court.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday declared APC candidate, Garba Gwarmai, winner of the election with 31,472 votes, defeating NNPP’s Yusuf Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes, while the margin was 3,541 votes.
But addressing journalists in Kano, the State Chairman of NNPP, Hashimu Suleiman Dungurawa, alleged that the process was manipulated to favour the ruling APC.
“The leadership of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Kano State has acknowledged the tremendous achievements recorded by the party in the re-run and by-elections at Tsanyawa/Ghari and Shanono/Bagwai constituencies,” Dungurawa said.
“While applauding the voters, the party wishes to inform the general public that the manipulations orchestrated against our candidate in the Tsanyawa/Ghari re-run election cannot be condoned.”
Dungurawa insisted that voters were disenfranchised despite turning out in large numbers to support the NNPP candidate, alleging that INEC officials colluded with “unpatriotic politicians” to subvert the will of the people.
“Elections are supposed to be declared at the constituency collation centre, but INEC chose to announce results in the state capital. This allowed politicians to connive with INEC, cancel all the polling units in contention and revert back to the old results earlier nullified by the court,” he stated.
The NNPP chairman stressed that presiding officers had already signed results at the polling units, insisting only they had the power to cancel elections, not INEC headquarters.
Dungurawa commended security agencies and constituents for ensuring peaceful conduct in Shanono/Bagwai, adding that if results there had not been declared at the collation centres, “APC might have attempted to change the narrative.”
He vowed that the NNPP would continue to resist “injustice, favoritism and electoral manipulation,” confirming that the party will pursue the matter in court.
