All is now set for the conclusion of the contentious gubernatorial election results of Tafawa- Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State which was earlier cancelled by the State Returning Officer, Prof Kyari Mohammed when the former LGA Returning Officer, Mrs Dominion Anosike said that she declared the result under duress.
Currently, the result is being regenerated at the INEC headquarters in Bauchi in accordance with sections 6 and 7 of INEC Guidelines for the conduct of the 2019 general elections.
According to the REC, Ibrahim Abdullahi, the process is taking place at the Independent National Electoral Commission Headquarters, Bauchi instead of Zwall, the Tafawa Balewa LGA Collation Center in order to facilitate and quicken the process considering the time of the directive following the vacation of the earlier order given by the Federal High Court in Abuja .
The REC while speaking to Journalists in an interview within the INEC office, confirmed the development and said that: “Right now in that room, they are submitting the regenerated or reconstructed results which were carted away, from the wards to the Local Government Collation Officer”.
He added that, “After that, the Local Government Collation Officer will come to the state Collation Officer, submit his report and after that, the State Collation Officer will round up, declare and return the winner.”
According to him, the development is in conformity with Section 6 & 7 of the INEC Guidelines for the 2019 general elections which empowers a REC, in the case of any mutilation of results, to order the LG Collation Officer to regenerate the results using form EC8B pointing out that “I have already given them that permission and the Form EC8A has been got from the CBN.”
It will be recalled that the Federal High Court, Abuja had ordered that the results of the Local Government Area which were earlier cancelled by the state Returning Officer, Prof. Kyari Mohammed, be collated and announced.
Meanwhile, supporters of the gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have thronged the Bauchi State INEC office singing and dancing in anticipation of the declaration of the gubernatorial election results following the dismissal of the Federal High Court order restraining INEC from collating the gubernatorial election results from Tafawa-Balewa LGA earlier declared cancelled by the State Returning officer, Prof Kyari Mohammed.