INEC declares APC candidate winner of Taraba rerun election

By Musa Baba Adamu

The candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mark Bako Useni, has been declared winner of the just concluded supplementary election for Takum, Ussa and Donga Federal Constituency for Taraba State.
Useni, who was the former speaker of the State House of Assembly, recently dumped the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the APC where he emerged as the party’s flag bearer for the aforementioned federal constituency’s election.
Declaring the former Speaker winner of the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said the APC candidate scored a total votes of 25,929 to beat his opponents in both PDP, Istifanus Haruna Gbana and Rimam Shawulu of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP.
According to the returning officer, Professor Luka Juma, the election which was keenly contested, saw the incumbent member of the constituency seeking reelection on the platform of the NNPP, pulling 25,350 votes to come second in the election.
The PDP candidate, who resigned his appointment as a chief of staff to the incumbent state to jostle for the National Assembly position, came third with a total votes of 20,234.
Elated by the outcome of the exercise, the member elect, as noticed by our correspondent, extended hands of friendship to his opponents.
He beckoned at them to join hands with him to move the constituency and the state at large forward.
He was also observed to have vowed to give priority to the return of Internal Displaced Persons, IDPs, within the constituency.
Following the pockets of violence that characterised the February National Assembly elections in some polling units of the constituency, election the affected polling units, were observed to have been declared incoming by the INEC, the actions which necessitated the rerun.
At the time of filing this report, it has not been ascertained whether the candidates of both the NNPP and PDP will be challenging the outcome of results in the election tribunal.