Breaking: INEC declares Bauchi governorship election inconclusive

The Independent National Electoral Commission on Monday declared as “inconclusive” the outcome of the governorship election in Bauchi State.

Prof. Mohammed Kyari, the Returning Officer, who made the declaration, said apart from the cancellation of the entire result from the Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area because of irregularities, the exercise in some other polling units also suffered the same fate.

Kyari said: “The margin between the winner and opponent is less than the total number of votes cancelled in some polling units.

“By law, since the margin of winner is less than the total number of votes cancelled and registered voters in the areas where the votes have been cancelled, this elections is hereby declared inconclusive.”

He said his decision was in line  with section 26 part 53 of the Electoral Act.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that while announcing the votes garnered by the two contending parties before declaring the outcome inconclusive, the Returning Officer had given the scores of incumbent Governor, Mohammed Abubakar of the All Progressives Congress as 465,453 votes and that of Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party as 469,512 votes.

Kyari said the Independent National Electoral Commission would conduct rerun election within 21 days in the affected Local Government Area and polling units, which results had been cancelled before the final announcement of the winner.

NAN reports that earlier in the day, the INEC Collation Officer in charge of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area, Dominion Anosike, had told the Returning Officer that the original result sheet was snatched by some thugs.

Anosike said the thugs later came back with an improvised result sheet and forced her to declare its content as being the outcome of the election in the local government area.