By Turaki Hassan
The rerun election in Bauchi state will only be an academic exercise since the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reversed the illegal cancellation of the election of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area by a compromised and corrupt state electoral officer there.
The Commission said the result from Tafawa Balewa will now be regenerated from the 11 Registration Areas (Wards) in the LGA.
As things stand now:
The total number of collated and announced votes :
PDP 469,512
APC 465,453
Difference 4,059
Tafawa Balewa result
PDP 40,010
APC 29,862
When the result for Tafawa Balewa is regenerated and added on Tuesday, it will come to:
PDP 509,522
APC 495,315
Difference 14,207
Recall that two most prominent electoral officials in the governorship polls fraudulently claimed that the cancelled votes is 45,312.
However, the fact-finding Committee set up by the Commission discovered that the actual figure of cancelled votes in Ningi LGA is 2,533 and not 25,330 as recorded earlier. INEC has now reversed the fraud by reducing the figure to its original of 2,533 for Ningi LGA.
This, therefore, means that the total number of cancelled votes in the entire Bauchi state is: 45,312 minus 25, 533 is equal to 19,779. Plus about 3 polling units the total could be 23,000 or even far less than that.
Assuming but not conceding that the total number of cancelled votes is actually 23,000 which is very unlikely in this circumstance, (Remember PDP is leading with 14,207)
23,000 minus 14,207 is equal to 8,793 votes difference.
This is a mathematical impossibility for APC/Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar :
PDP/Kaura needs less than 9,000 votes out of the 23,000 cancelled votes. And for APC/Govenor, they must win all the 23,000 votes, which is practically impossible.
Again, not all the 23,000 registered voters in the affected Polling Units collected their PVCs, meaning that the number of people that will actually vote if the rerun election is conducted could be far less than the 23,000 cancelled votes. And if INEC, after collating the result of Tafawa Balewa LGA, come to the determination of the actual and real figure of cancelled votes based on record of PVC collection to be less than 14,000, then Sen. Bala Mohammed will automatically be declared winner.
“Approbate and Reprobate”
Both Gov. Abubakar and the Bauchi APC know these facts and that is why the State party chairman, Uba Nana, held a press conference on Saturday March 16, 2019 in Bauchi, rejecting the decision of INEC on the Bauchi election where he said: “Considering the letters and spirit of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended), and the INEC Guidelines for 2019 General Elections, INEC is not empowered to reverse any decision taken at the Collation Center by the Returning Officer appointed for that purpose. Such decisions can only be reversed by a Court of law, especially when INEC cannot Approbate and Reprobate.”
Now, this is akin to standing logic on its head as they agreed and rightly admitted one cannot approbate and reprobate at the same time. Therefore, what the corrupt Professor (electoral officer) did was not only unconstitutional, it was shamelessness of the highest order, because he unilaterally and illegally cancelled three levels of declaration that can only be voided by a competent court of law having been blinded by the lure of lucre.
The professor cancelled the collation, announcement, and declaration at all Polling Units, 11 wards and the LGA Collation Officer Mrs. Dominion Anosike. If I may ask Uba Nana, who and which law authorized the professor to cancel these declarations?
Indeed, it is a settled law that you cannot approbate and reprobate at the same time. This is the bitter truth: the game is over for them. The people’s will has triumphed in Bauchin Yakubu.
Meanwhile, God has buttered the bread of the people of Tafawa Balewa who have been receiving trailer loads of gifts including motor bikes, cars, cash, clothings, etc from MA in the last few days in the anticipation that a rerun polls will be conducted in the area. At least, they have recovered part of their looted funds no matter how paltry and insignificant the amount.
WHAT A LUCKY PEOPLE!!
▪ Mr. Hassan is spokesman to House Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and sent this via his verified Whatsapp number.
