The Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the March 18 governorship and House of Assembly elections in Kwara state, Alhaji Shuaib Yaman Abdullahi, has said he has decided to leave the outcome of the elections to God.
On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared that the PDP flagbearer came second in the polls won by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Governor AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq, just as the final results showed that the APC polled 273,424 votes. At the same time, the PDP got 155,490 votes, and the SDP came third with 18,922 votes.
Speaking with journalists in between a series of meetings with the PDP members in Ilorin on Monday, Alhaji Shuaib Yaman Abdulahi said that he would not congratulate Governor Abdulrazaq on the election victory, saying that the last Saturday’s governorship election was fraught with electoral malpractices.
The PDP leader, who said that he would keep the decision to continue in politics or not within himself for now, added that he would be returning to Kaduna state to face his business.
“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. And 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”, he said.
Alhaji Abdulahi, who was emotional and closed 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 PDP members and supporters in the state 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 the 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 said.