By Naomi Sharang
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has rejected the outcome of the National Assembly elections in the Federal Capital Territory and proceeded to the tribunal to seek redress.
The party alleged that the process that produced Ireti Kingibe, the candidate of the Labour of Party (LP) as Senator-elect for the FCT was marred by irregularities.
Mr Mubarak Tijjani, the NNPP’s party senatorial candidate in the FCT, said this at a news conference held in Abuja, on Thursday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that on Feb. 25, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mrs Ireti Kingibe of the LP as the winner of the FCT Senate seat.
Ireti scored 202,175 votes to emerge winner, adding that Sen. Philip Aduda of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and incumbent senator came second with 100,544 votes.
“Mr Angulu Dobi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) placed third with 78,905 votes.”
Tijjani claimed that the election was marred by irregularities ranging from over voting and the omission of NNPP’s logo from the ballot paper.
“We were sabotaged; all our efforts were sabotaged and undermined.
“I’m not trying to throw allegations but it is clear to everybody in FCT that LP and the INEC have played some certain role of sabotaging our efforts in NNPP.
“Our logo was changed on the ballot paper, which was something that has caused NNPP a great loss in the 2023 general elections that we will never forget.
“That is why I’m challenging the result that brought Ireti Kingibe as the Senator-elect. This is not a true democracy. Democracy did not play doing the 2023 general election,” he said.
Tijjani also said that the Agent’s tag for his party was not provided..
“A day to the election, they told us they forgot to print the entire tags for FCT.
“We were trying to improvise, the following morning we saw other party agents with their tags.
“By the time our agents who had trained to protect their votes, came to their polling units to do their assignment, they were only sent away by other party agents.
“We are highly disappointed in LP and we are not going to relent. We have to seek for justice not just for ourselves, for our people, for our supporters but for our democracy,” he said.(NAN)
