NNPP Says Its Deputy Governorship Candidate Sold His Ticket

The deputy governorship candidate for the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Yobe State allegedly sold his ticket and withdrew from the race, according to the national chairman of the party, Prof. Ahmed Rufai Alkali.

Speaking to media in Abuja on Wednesday about the reasons the party sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and won approval to replace some of its candidates, the NNPP chairman claimed that the candidate—whom he declined to name—had allegedly received N500 million to drop off the ticket.

When INEC refused to replace some of the NNPP’s candidates who quit the party and dropped off the ticket, the national chairman claimed the party was forced to turn to the courts.

He claimed that the Federal High Court had ordered the commission to replace the existing candidates with fresh ones that the party had submitted to the INEC.

The national chairman praised the judiciary for serving as the people’s last hope and as a pillar of democracy and democratic processes, notably in its responsibilities about this year’s general election.

He claimed that the NNPP had benefited greatly from the wise rulings of the Federal High Court and the Appeal Court, which had been handed down promptly despite the court’s jam-packed schedules.

The NNPP national chairman said: “The position of the court was that even though INEC has its guidelines, the Electoral Act provision supersedes that, in terms of the timeline for final submission of candidates.

“We also had a separate case of two senatorial candidates who purchased the forms and were screened and nominated after the primaries.

“One was Senator Ibrahim Shekarau from Kano and the other one from Taraba State. Also, one of our deputy governorship candidates – from Yobe State – suddenly sold the position. I understand he collected N500 million.

“There is another House of Assembly candidate from Potiskum, Yobe State. You know the place of a deputy governor. No governor can run without a deputy. So, when somebody is withdrawn, he has to be substituted.

“In the case of the senators, Shekarau wrote to INEC, telling them that he had withdrawn, while the one from Taraba State went to court to swear to an affidavit that he had left the party and the ticket.

“We approached INEC about the situation and they said as far as they were concerned, the people were not dead and that they were still on the list of candidates for our party. So, we decided to approach the court to interpret the Electoral Act and the court gave a judgment in our favor and we forwarded the correspondence to INEC. But INEC said no; instead, they went to appeal the matter and we also won.

“We have already written a letter to INEC and we are waiting for them to respond so that we can validly nominate candidates from the party. We also have another case, which came up about two or three days ago, concerning about 300 House of Assembly candidates. On the such issue, you have to substitute them.”