Sokoto PDP faction rejects governorship primaries result

From Raji Bello, Sokoto

A faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Sokoto State has rejected the results of the state’s governorship primary conducted by the 3-man electoral panel headed by Senator Usman Dukku.

The election was won by Senator Abdallah Wali, who polled 547 votes, Senator Abubakar Gada got 193 votes, while the state’s Deputy Governor, Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari, got a vote, even though he withdrew from the race alongside the former Minister of Transport as well as Sports , Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman.

However, the trio of Shagari, Suleiman and Gada had petitioned the national leadership of the party, calling for the cancellation of the results and the conduct of fresh polls.

They cited some irregularities which they alleged marred the elections, alleging that, it was illegal as ‘’ ghost’’ delegates were substituted with the original 984 accredited delegates.

Addressing newsmen in Sokoto yesterday, a faction of the state executives of the party dissociated themselves from the election.

The group spoke through the state’s organising secretary of the party, Alhaji Usman Yabo.

‘’As far as we are concerned, there was no gubernatorial election in Sokoto State, and we are hereby dissociating ourselves from its results.

‘’We are calling on the national leadership of the party to dispassionately and urgently attend to the petitions which arose from it and we want it cancelled.

‘’ We are however law abiding members of the party and we therefore want the national leadership of the party to employ its internal mechanism to resolve the impasse,’’ Yabo, stressed.

The state chairman of the party, Alhaji Ibrahim Milgoma, recently told Peoples Daily in Sokoto that the election results still stood.

‘’As far as we are concerned, there was an election which was won by Wali, and we are ready for the 2015 general polls even now,’’ Milgoma, added.