Don’t nominate Ndume as Senate President, PDP senatorial candidate warns APC

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Borno South senatorial district in the just concluded National Assembly elections, Kudla Satumari Haskey, has warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) not to nominate Sen. Ali Ndume as Senate President.

Haskey believe that Ndume did not win his election, therefore, he (Haskey) will reclaim his mandate at the Election Appeal Tribunal as the rightful elected senator for the senatorial district.

Speaking to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, the PDP candidate said his victory at the polling units was upturned between the polling stations and collation centre where the results were rewritten in favour of Ndume.

He said no amount of pressure and persuasion can make him accept an out of court settlement, expressing confidence that the overwhelming evidences at his disposal are substantial enough to upturn the Ndume’s temporary victory at the Election Tribunal.

“For the records, I contested Borno South senatorial district on the platform of the PDP. The immediate result of the election is not what is expected. I initially evaluated the outcome of the election to see what action to take, but I have overwhelming appeal from my people and even the contestants from other political parties that have supplied me with hard facts and evidences to prove substantial breach of electoral process.

“The evidences have shown that I won the election but was upturned between the polling units and the collation centre. For us to deepen democracy and ensure that the process of election is abided by, I decided to take the case to the tribunal. It has been submitted and the papers served to all the respondents involved,” he said.

He further noted that if Ndume had won him fair and square; “I would have been among those campaigning for him to be the senate president because he is from my senatorial district and I believe that as senate president he could attract some interventions and developmental projects to our area.

“What people don’t know is that I have worked assiduously for him to become the senator in 2011. I was among those that worked hard to ensure that he won the election. I even named a primary school I built in area after him. The fight is not personal, but we should not reinforce failure,” he said.

Asked if he will accept out of court settlement, he thundered: “Out of court settlement is never an option. It is not about me but my people because the level of insecurity in my area has gotten to alarming stage. I doubt if we still have men to stand for the people.

“Our problem is that nobody is bringing the issue to the centre stage. My over 80 year-old mother slept in the bush last week. It pains when the federal government claims Boko Haram has been degraded, yet the kind of insecurity we are experiencing on daily basis before, during and after the general elections has never been so under Goodluck Jonathan.

“It was better under him because they can take control over a Local Government but the kind of hit and run we are having now and the seeming lack of concern or tangible effort made by the appropriate authority to curtail the attacks, make us to wonder if we are still part of this country.

“That is why I will never accept any out of court settlement. Let the court decide and confirm his victory. I will appeal and if the Appeal Court still gives it to him, I will accept and leave for God. My life has been threatened and there has been nothing that has not been done.

“There is nobody on this earth, including my mother, I cherish and respect so much that can prevail on me to step down for whatever consideration. I will never concede and even if lawyers refused to defend me, I will defend myself,” he emphasized.

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