Tambuwal Delivers Sokoto for Atiku

By Onuminya Innocent In Sokoto

The presidential candidate of People Democratic party (PDP) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has won February  25 presidential election in Sokoto State. 

Sokoto is the home state of the Director General of the Atiku Presidential Campaign Council, Governor Animu Tambuwal.

Declaring the results in the early hours of Tuesday, the returning officer of the election Prof Kabiru Bala of Ahmadu Bello University , Zaria said Atiku Abubakar of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 288,679 votes to defeat his closest  rival Ahmed Bola Tinubu of All Progressives Congress (APC) who scored 285, 444 .

In the results Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) came distant third  with 6,568 votes while Engr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) came fourth with 1300 votes.

In reaction, the agent of People Democratic Party and former Minister of Transportation Yusuf Suleiman said the results did not reflects the wishes of Sokoto voters, stressing that over three hundred thousands (300000) voters in the state were disfranchised due to electoral violence which  led to the cancellation of 471 polling units.

But in a Swift reaction, the APC agent and Minister of Police Affairs Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi said nobody should bring confusion by quoting unsubstantiated figures.

The response from Dingyadi received a swift response from Suleiman leadi g to a heated argument between them. It took the intervention of the returning officer to persuade the both of them to end the argument.

However, the returning officer, Prof Bala Kabiru, confirmed the cancellation of 471 polling units due to electoral violence.