APC candidate Aisha Alhassan rejects Taraba governorship result; ...heads for Tribunal

The All Progressives Congress candidate in the just-concluded governorship election in Taraba, Aisha Alhassan, has rejected the results of the poll as announced by INEC on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference in Jalingo shortly after the announcement of the results, Mrs. Alhassan described the entire elections process as “daylight robbery.”

She said the party would challenge the results in the elections petitions tribunal.

“The combined governorship elections in Taraba were characterised by violence, massive rigging, ballot snatching and abuse of the card readers in substantial parts of the state by the PDP and their allies,” she said.

She said the results of Wukari, Donga, Takum, Sardauna, Zing, Yorro, Kurmi and some parts of Ussa, Karim-Lamido, Bali, Ardo-Kola and Lau local government areas were not acceptable as they did not reflect the true results of the election in Taraba.

Mrs. Alhassan said all the complaints on the irregularities and abuse of the election guidelines were promptly reported to INEC, but no action was taken.

The INEC Returning Officer for Taraba, Kyari Mohammed, who declared the results on Sunday in Jalingo, said Darius Ishaku scored 369,318 votes to emerge victorious.

He said Mr. Alhassan came second with 275,984 votes, while David Kente of the Social Democratic Party polled 29, 966 votes.

If Mrs. Alhassan had been elected, she would have been the first elected female state governor in Nigeria.

(NAN)