The Kwara PDP candidate alleged that political thugs were used for disruption of the poll and that the election was fraught with irregularities.
By Dele Moses, Ilorin
Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, Shuaib Abdullahi, has said he would not congratulate the winner of the election, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, because the election was not free and fair.
Abdullahi, who spoke with reporters on Monday, following a meeting with leaders in his party, however, said he has decided to leave the outcome of the election to God.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Abdulrazaq as the winner of the election on Sunday making the APC candidate who is the incumbent governor of the state to earn a second term of office.
The result of the election shows that Abdulrazaq won in all the 16 local governments of the state including Edu from where Abdullahi hails and polled a total votes of 273, 424 as against that of Abdullahi who scored 155, 490 votes.
The Kwara PDP candidate alleged that political thugs were used for disruption of the poll and that the election was fraught with irregularities.
The governorship candidate, said that he would keep the decision to continue in politics or not within himself for now.
He stated: “For the fact that political thugs were used, calls for concern among Nigerians, especially, among our people and relevant stakeholders. Voters aparthy in the last governorship elections was far greater than before, while the number of voters was greater than the presidential elections.
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“I think INEC has questions to answer on the electoral process too. Security forces were used against people and I wouldn’t know if they are real security operatives used against the people, while the APC monetarized the elections. Our collation offers were chased away in many places.
“It’s not even about the result declared by the INEC. I know one thing for sure that evil victory is temporary while that of the Almighty God victory is permanent. We leave everything to God.”
Abdulahi, who was emotional and close to tears while addressing the party supporters, chastised some party members in some senatorial districts for their alleged acts of betrayal and anti-party activities.
He, however, admonished the Kwara PDP members and supporters to keep hope alive, praying that God will repay their good intentions with good rewards.
“The spirit that keeps us should be kept alive. God will not repay your good intentions for bad. We need to recover from dark evil. We cannot afford to be led by incompetent and people who do not know what to do to lead. One day, our efforts would be beneficial to us or our children.
“Kwara will rise up again and our group will thrive. This is a moment to retreat and ponder. This is not the end. Let’s prepare for battle ahead. It’s not over yet.
“I know for sure that they must account for all the votes because they only ambushed people for election. These are people who had kept mute on what their plans are for people or for the state to benefit, but were only distributing money to buy people,” he stated.
