TheCable

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue has rejected the governorship election outcome in the state.

Hyacinth Alia, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), won the March 18 governorship election in the north-central state.

To defeat his closest challenger, Alia polled 473,933 votes, while Titus Uba, the candidate of the PDP, secured 223,913 votes.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday in Makurdi, Isaac Mffo, acting chairman of the PDP in Benue, said the party will challenge both Alia’s victory and the house of assembly results at the election petition tribunal.

“It is the decision of the Benue chapter of the PDP that the outcome of the March 18 elections is challenged at the state governorship election petitions tribunal sitting in Makurdi,” he said.

“It is our belief that we owe democracy in our country, Nigeria, a duty to help deepen it by taking such an action to reverse the ‘hijacking’ of the popular mandate. It is our faith that the mandate of the Benue electorate will be restored to our great party as was rightfully given by the people on March 18.”

Similarly, the PDP in Ebonyi has also rejected the victory of Francis Nwifuru, candidate of the APC, in the governorship election in the state.

Nwifuru received 199,131 votes to defeat Ifeanyi Odii of the PDP, who got 80,191 votes.

Addressing journalists in Abakaliki, Ifeanyi Nworie, PDP chairman in the state, said the party has commenced a legal process to “reclaim” the mandate of the party.

He alleged that the election was marred by armed thuggery, voter intimidation, vote buying and other irregularities.

“PDP is challenging the outcome of the election in a court of competent jurisdiction. We are a peace-loving people and we remain obedient to the constitution of the land and to the rule of law,” he said.

“We, therefore, state that we reject in totality the outcome of the governorship election and results of the house of assembly election in some areas and we must reclaim our mandate at the court of law.

“Arising from these monumental irregularities, we state that the declaration of any other candidate instead of Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii is of no effect whatsoever. The results in our possession indicate otherwise, we make it clear that we are determined to prove that based on the valid votes cast as Odii scored the highest number of votes.

“Our candidate polled not less than one-quarter of the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the local governments in the state and as such, he ought to have been declared and returned as the winner of the governorship election.”