PRP Alleges Exclusion Of Party Logo From Ballot Papers In Taraba, Demands Compensation

Iliyasu Ibrahim Gadu, the Senatorial candidate of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), has called for the immediate cancellation of the Taraba South senatorial district election in the state.

Making the demand on Wednesday at a media parley, in Jalingo, he identified the exclusion of his political party’s logo from the ballot papers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as a major reason why the exercise should be cancelled.

Displaying the ballot papers before media men, he said ”I am calling on INEC to immediately cancel the purported Senate election which took place on Saturday, February 25th and organise a fresh one with my party’s logo included.”

Though the Party, according to him, has concluded plans to drag the leadership of INEC to court and demand compensation for the damages done to him and his party, he said there was a need for INEC to rectify similar anomalies if they exist before the coming governorship and state Assembly elections.

The candidate maintained that his party members will tread extra legitimate miles to seek justice.

He said, ”I could not think of any reason why INEC would exclude my party from participating in the senate election because all outstanding issues regarding my candidacy had been conclusively resolved between my Party and INEC and cleared the way for me to be a candidate for the senatorial election under PRP.”

Arguing that INEC supervised the primary election from which he emerged the Southern Taraba candidate of the Party, he said the inability of the party to upload his name to the INEC portal was mainly due to technical glitches from the INEC system.

The candidate who noted that his party duly applied and submitted names to INEC to be uploaded on its portals for the 2023 elections, said he was disappointed on election day when he discovered that INEC excluded his party, the PRP from the ballot papers of the senatorial elections of which he was a bona fide candidate.

He maintained that INEC acted contrary to the electoral law and vowed to ask for compensation in view of the aggravated damages including cost, trauma and opprobrium caused him and his arty by the unlawful act of INEC.

The senatorial district election which he is demanding the cancellation was conducted for Wukari, Ussa, Takum, Donga and Ibi Senatorial Districts.