Temitope Adeogun
The political atmosphere in Taraba State has become tense since the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared Darius Ishaku, candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as winner of the re-run election last Saturday. As a result, the state government has imposed a dusk to dawn curfew from Sunday, April 26 to ensure law and order.
A statement by Hassan Mijinyawa, chief press secretary to the state Acting Governor, indicates that the curfew, which was with immediate effect, would be observed from 5:00 pm to 5:00 am.
Since the result of the re-run elections was made public, Aisha Alhassan, gubernatorial candidate of All Progressives Candidate, APC, Ishaku has not been happy. With Ishaku polling a total of 329,318 votes while she had 275, 984, the APC candidate, who was thought to have won the elections during the first leg in April 11, maintained that the party’s agents were attacked in some local government areas of which results are being contested. The local governments include Wukari, Donga, Takum, Sarduana, Zing, Yorro, Kumi and also parts of Ussa, karim, Lamido, Ardo Kola and Lau local councils.
She said, “In all the affected areas, our agents were shot at, beaten up, intimidated and chased away from voting centres.” She also claimed that voting took place in residents of PDP stakeholders and government functionaries. Based on that, Alhassan said, “Now that INEC has made its declarations despite our protestations, I hereby announce to the whole world that I have rejected the results of the governorship elections as announced by INEC and shall be heading to the Governorship Election Tribunals to seek redress and reclaim the mandate entrusted on me by the good people of Taraba State. The mandate is sacred and I shall not relent in seeking to reclaim it,” she added.
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