Police arrest Kano deputy gov, 2 others

*As PDP, APC run shoulder to shoulder

By Yakubu Salisu, Kano

The police in Kano state has arrested the Deputy Governor of the state, Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, alongside the Commissioner for Local Government, Murtala Sule Garo while allegedly trying to disrupt collation of election results during the early hours of Monday Morning.

This is coming as results so far declared in the state governorship election indicate that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is ahead of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) with a slim margin.

Before their arrest, INEC had declared the results of 43 local governments out of the 44 in the state while awaiting the submission of Nasarawa Local Government results which has become the battleground that may likely decide who eventually wins the election.

The deputy governor, the commissioner and chairman of Nasarawa Local Government, Lamin Sani were said to have allegedly stormed the collation centre at about 1.30am on Monday morning with thugs that unleashed terror on the people before the security agents over powered them and took them to Bompai police headquarters.

Out of the results from 43 out of the 44 local governments in the state, so far declared by INEC returning officer at the state collation centre, the PDP has polled 960, 004 votes as against APC’s 953, 522 votes.

Thus, the PDP is leading with a margin of 6, 482 votes. Only results
from Nasarawa Local Government Area is yet to be presented following
violence at the collation center.

Meanwhile, the state Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Rabiu Bichi has urged
the INEC returning officer for the governorship elections to declare
the party and its candidate, winner of Saturday’s polls to ease the
tension in the state.

Bichi said this while speaking to the media after a briefing by the
state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Riskuwa Shehu, in Kano on
Monday.

He said “The resident electoral commissioner has told everyone that
the results of 10 out of the 11 wards of Nasarawa are ready. Everybody
has the results, he can make the return and we can go and have the re-run in the remaining one ward later on.

“This is necessary to ease tension in the state. Everybody knows the
PDP has won this election.”