SOKOTO – Deputy Governor Mukhtari Shagari of Sokoto State has called for the setting up of another Electoral Committee to conduct fresh gubernatorial primary election in the State.
Shagari made the call in a statement he issued in Sokoto.
The statement told the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the committee should be made up of credible men and women of proven integrity.
“The committee should conduct the gubernatorial primaries for Sokoto state within the shortest possible time”, it added.
It stated categorically that there was no gubernatorial primary election for PDP in Sokoto state.
“The election committee could not keep to the scheduled time and programme of events for the election.
“The accreditation of 984 delegates started at 6p.m. in the evening of December 8. This was followed by the substitution of genuine and authentic delegates with new ones with the aim of rigging the election.
“The whole process was marred by irregularities, including dragging of electoral process to dovetail into the night in order to achieve the above mentioned objective.”
Shagari said he protested to the electoral committee orally and in writing that the best option was to postpone/halt the election until proper arrangements were made for free, fair contest.
“I, therefore, call on the national leadership of PDP to disband the electoral committee as the attitude of its chairman cannot guarantee a free and fair conduct of the primary election.’’
In the election held on Monday, Sen. Abdallah Wali scored 547 votes, Sen. Abubakar Gada, 193 votes and Mukhtari Shagari one vote.
The results were declared by the Chairman of the five-man electoral panel, Sen. Usman Dukku.
Shagari had withdrawn from the election while former Ministers of Sports, as well as Transport, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, also boycotted the contest, citing “some irregularities with the processes leading to the exercise’’ as reason.