The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared erstwhile Governor Ibrahim Shekarau of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, as the winner of Kano Central Senatorial seat.
Recall that Mr Shekarau had since defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which did not even participate in the primary election that produced Laila Buhari as the Senatorial candidate for the party.
INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Tijani Darma, who declared the results on Monday in Kano, said Mr Shekarau polled 456,787 votes.
He defeated his closest rival, Abdulkarim Zaura of All Progressives Congress, APC, who polled 168, 677 votes and Laila Buhari of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, who secured 55,237.
Shortly after the declaration, NNPP’s agent, Shehu Usman, accused INEC of refusing to replace Mr Shekarau who defected from the party to the PDP.
He lamented that despite a court order directing INEC to accept the name of a fresh candidate, Rufai Hanga, the commission refused to comply.
Similarly, APC’s agent, Yusuf Atta, urged INEC to declare the party’s candidate, Abdulkarim Zaura, who came second, as the winner because Mr Shekarau did not participate in the election.
However, INEC Returning Officer, Darma, urged them to report their complaints to INEC and the election tribunal that would be set up.
Mr Hanga did not make the final list of senatorial candidates released by INEC.
The electoral umpire, instead, published the name of Mr Shekarau as the NNPP candidate, arguing that he has yet to inform the commission officially that he has left the NNPP and was no longer its senatorial candidate.
INEC said until that was done, as required by the electoral act, it could not replace Mr Shekarau’s name.
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