BORNO GUBER: PDP HEADS FOR COURT

Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Borno State stormed Abuja at the weekend declaring that documentary evidence on the gubernatorial election malpractices at its disposal are enough to upturn the results of the election in its favour.

The group led by the PDP Gubernatorial candidate in the State, Alhaji Mohammed Goni, former Minister of the FCT Alhaji Bunu Sheriff, former minister of defence, Dr. Shettima Mustafa, Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on National Assembly Matters, PDP National Women Leader, Mrs. Inna Adamu Ciroma and Hon. Mohammed Kumalia, said that they would be heading for the election tribunal.

Accordingly, the party said that it was going to contest the results of three federal constituencies, which the ruling All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in the state won. In a prepared text read by the Director General of Goni Gubernatorial Campaign Organization, Mohammed Kumalia, the Borno State chapter of the PDP said there were obvious cases of massive rigging, voter intimidation, thuggery, harassment, assault, ballot box snatching, multiple thump-printing, ballot stuffing and deliberate murder.

Kumalia said the Second Republic governor of old Borno State Alhaji Mohammed Goni won the April 26 gubernatorial election with 450,000 of the lawful votes thus vowed that the PDP would recovered the mandate of the people at the election tribunal.

He noted that while the people of the state trooped out in their numbers to vote in spite of the two bomb blasts and fatal shooting of the Shani Local Government, Chairman of the PDP, Mallam Idris Imam, the ANPP, led by the outgoing Governor allegedly embarked on massive rigging and ballot-box snatching.

He said apart from the governorship election which the party would challenge at the tribunal, it would also challenge 14 House of Assembly seats which he claimed were wrongly awarded to the All Nigeria Peoples Party.

Kumalia further said; 'Apart from aiding and abetting the massive rigging that gave the ANPP victory in the election, the Independent National Electoral Commissioner's governorship Election Returning Officer in the state brazenly ignored the PDP's protest over the massive malpractices in eight local Government Areas.