INEC declares Kogi East, Dekina/Bassa Federal Constituency elections inconclusive

While the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has started the announcement of the presidential election results at the national collation centre, the elections for Kogi East Senatorial District and Dekina/Bassa Federal Constituency have been declared inconclusive.

INEC Returning Officer for the senatorial election, Prof. Rotimi Ajayi, who made the announcement, said the declaration was as a result of widespread violence. He explained that elections did not hold in 129 polling units across the district.

While speaking at the collation centre in Idah, on Monday, he said reports from Bassa Local Government Area revealed that “a registration area with the name Mozum, which has 12 polling units refused to vote.”

Ajayi said that a new date for the re-run of the polls would be announced after necessary arrangements were made.

While voting was going on in other parts of the country on Saturday, the elections did not hold in four units in Anyigba, Dekina Local Government, as gun-wielding hoodlums invaded the polling units in Ajetachi, Etiaja, Abuja and CMML Primary School unit 005.

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In Ajetachi a 19 year old student of Kogi State University, Daniel Usman, on the queue to vote was gunned down by the hoodlums who operated from a Toyota Sienna bus as they invaded the polling unit.

In Igalamela-Odolu Local Government Area with 65,129 registered voters and 16,543 accredited, elections in four polling units were cancelled within Ofuloko which has 1,145 registered voters.

The local government also witnessed violent activities in Odolu town as suspected thugs, also in a Sienna bus, shot one Adebayo Adebunmi as they kidnapped Mr Friday Sani, the member representing Igalamela-Odolu constituency at the state House of Assembly.

In Bassa Local Government, out of 58,892 registered voters, 19,587 were accredited to vote: elections in nine polling units with 6,068 voters were cancelled while elections did not take place in some of the units.

By Precious Akpadaka…

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