The Labour Party (LP) candidate in the Nasarawa North Senatorial by-election, Labaran Maku, has called for the cancellation of Saturday’s poll, alleging widespread electoral fraud, including mass thumb-printing of ballot papers in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, ballot snatching, BVAS failures and voter intimidation.
Maku, a former Minister of Information, made the demand on Sunday during a press briefing at his residence in Wakama, Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area, describing the election as a “sham” and accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of failing to uphold electoral laws.
The LP candidate alleged that electoral irregularities occurred across several polling units and wards in the senatorial district.
Among the allegations were reports of mass thumb-printing of ballot papers in favour of the APC candidate, multiple printing of ballot papers at Alushi Watch School, and the alleged disruption of voting activities at Angwan Zaria polling unit by government officials escorted by armed security personnel.
Speaking after casting his vote at Wakama Clinic on Saturday, Maku acknowledged that his accreditation process was smooth but expressed concern over the malfunction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in some polling units.
According to him, many voters were unable to cast their ballots because the machines failed to capture their fingerprints.
“There was no reason for anybody to wait until the fingerprint alone is accepted. You can use facial recognition and let people vote,” he said.
Maku further alleged incidents of ballot box snatching and electoral manipulation in several communities, including Ningo-Bohar, Moro electoral wards and Alushi.
He urged security agencies to remain vigilant throughout the collation process.
“It’s not about me accepting results or not accepting results. It’s the process, the transparency of the process that we are all concerned with. It’s about the country winning. Democracy will prosper the nation if we allow it to be transparent,” he said.
The former minister disclosed that he had repeatedly warned before the election about alleged plans to manipulate the outcome in some wards with large voter populations.
At Sunday’s briefing, Maku said consultations with his party informed the decision to reject the election and demand its cancellation.
“I have observed that what took place in the bye-election in Nasarawa was a sham — a complete sham. I consulted with my party. We decided that the best option is to withdraw from the election.
“And we ask INEC to honourably cancel this election and conduct a free and fair election for the senatorial district,” he stated.
Maku accused the Nasarawa State Government of orchestrating the alleged irregularities and claimed that INEC merely provided a platform for the manipulation of results.
He further alleged that voting did not take place in some polling units in Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area, including parts of Umme and Alushi wards, where he claimed thumb-printing occurred without the use of BVAS.
The LP candidate also cited alleged cases of vote manipulation in Agyaga, Ningo-Bohar and Gudi polling units, as well as incidents of thumb-printing in parts of Wamba Local Government Area.
Supporting the allegations, LP Returning Officer for the election, Dr Benjamin Ango, and party collation agents from Nasarawa Eggon, Akwanga and Wamba local government areas claimed they had evidence of thumb-printing, non-use of BVAS and violations of electoral guidelines.
Maku called on the Federal Government and INEC to investigate the conduct of the election, describing the alleged irregularities as “a national embarrassment.”
