APC Vows To Challenge PDP’s Victory In Gombe

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Gombe state has vowed to head to the election tribunal to challenge the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in last Saturday’s governorship election.

The leader of the APC in Gombe and former governor of the state, Danjuma Goje, in a telephone chat on Wednesday, accused the security agencies in the state of aligning with the PDP to rig in the party’s favour.

“Security agents were used to overpower us especially the police and the army,” he said.

Mr. Goje said the APC will first address how the security agents were used against the party, before heading to court.
Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo was declared winner of the election after he scored 285,369 votes to defeat his closest challenger, Inuwa Yahya of the APC, who scored 205,132 votes.

The Gombe State returning officer, Saminu Ibrahim, a professor and Vice Chancellor of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, announced the governorship results for the other 11 parties that contested the elections as follows: Accord Party 49, ACPN 166, AD 289, ADC 848, APGA 610, Labour Party 115, NNPP 126, PDC 523, SDP 245 and UDP 100.
Shortly after the results were announced at the Gombe State sports auditorium which was the collation centre for the gubernatorial election, the agent of the APC, Kabiru Kukandaka, refused to sign the result sheet.

Mr. Kukandaka informed reporters that he would not sign the result sheet because “a lot happened in the field” while the election held.

He said he would first report to his party what transpired, after which the party would take a decision on the best course of action.

However, the APC candidate, Inuwa Yahya, later conceded defeat to the PDP candidate.

“The election has been won and lost; won because I have the belief that the people exercised their rights and voted. Whatever happened at least there was a result which came through INEC, so we have to accept it and we wish the person that was announced winner success.”

Mr. Yahya however added that as a party man he would abide by whatever decision the party takes.