The Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared Muhammaed Abacha as the authentic governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kano State.
The Commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Professor Risque Shreporters, on Thursday that, as far as INEC is concerned, the elections conducted by Shehu Sagagi are authentic.
Shehu’s statement put to rest the controversy over who INEC recognizes between Muhammad Abacha and Sadiq Wali.
Professor Risque Shehu said, “as at the time the PDP Primary was conducted, Shehu Sagagi was the one recognized by the law as the State Chairman of the party in Kano and is also the only election that we sent our observers”.
Shehu stated this while responding to questions about who INEC recognized as the party’s authentic candidate; while briefing the media.
He said, “although the primary is purely party affair, as far as we are concerned, the elections conducted by Shehu Sagagi was the one we recognized”.
He said some party stalwarts came from Abuja that they were sent from the PDP headquarters to conduct primary elections for the gubernatorial seat of the State. Still, they went without a location of where the polls would hold.
“But later, Shehu Sagagi, the state-recognized PDP Chairman by law as at that time, came with the same letter from the party headquarters and with locations, and we sent our observers who monitored their elections”.
“And later in the day, another team of observers claiming they came from the party headquarters came and asked us to send our team of observers to witness their primary elections, but we declined because we told them we are acting on what the law says”.
Abacha and Wali had emerged winners of two parallel PDP primaries in the State, with each claiming to be the authentic candidate of the party in the State.
