President Muhammadu Buhari has backed the decision of the Bauchi state Governor Mohammed Abubakar who he is heading to court to challenge the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC’s resolution to resume collation of results in the state instead of supplementary elections earlier declared.
Bauchi state is among other States of the federation where INEC had declared results inconclusive and rescheduled March 23 for supplementary elections.
Speaking to State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Buhari at the presidential villa Abuja, Governor Abubakar described INEC’s decision as illegal and an attempt to reverse itself in its previous decision to hold supplementary elections in the state.
The Bauchi governor said he was at the presidential villa to brief President Buhari on what steps he would be taking on the matter within the next few hours about the matter.
“One of which is that i am a lawyer and I am pursuing the legal angle. I briefed him and he emphasized on that legal angle that it is the best way to go, ” he stressed.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) had also rejected INEC’s decision to resume collation of results in Bauchi and Rivers states ahead of supplementary elections declared in six states.
According to the Bauchi state governor, “I briefed him (the President) on the issues surrounding the inconclusive elections. The Returning Officer for Bauchi State at the end of collation, rejected the result of Tafawa Balewa local government and then 36 other units spread around 15 local governments of Bauchi state and ordered a rerun.
“Surprisingly, we woke up one morning and INEC came up with a procedure that is not known to law. Because, where a Returning Officer has declared the result, only an election petition tribunal can reverse the result. But INEC is attempting to reverse itself in the case of Bauchi. And when one juxtapose that of Bauchi and other states with inconclusive elections, one wonders why that is happening only in Bauchi State.
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