There are certain things that serve as dream killers
in life; you do not want them near you. The news of the
annulment of the election of Architect Darius Ishaku,
the governor of Taraba State, is one of such. An
amiable politician who is loved by his people,
Governor Ishaku was voted into office in April 2015
after defeating the candidate of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan, in
a keenly-contested election and runoff. He emerged
winner because the people believed in his ability and
capacity to help rescue, rebuild and reposition the
state.
The news of the annulment of his election by the
Taraba Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja
was a rude and immense shock not only to those of
us privileged to know him, but indeed, to all well-
meaning citizens of the state. In the controversial
judgment, the Justice Danladi Abubakar tribunal
announced that Ishaku did not emerge the candidate
of the PDP in a properly-conducted primary election
and so must vacate office. Meanwhile, here was a
candidate who clearly won the elections by the valid
votes cast in the elections and was so declared by
the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC). Now, if the surprise decision and conclusion
of the tribunal doesn’t shock, nothing else will!
What is not in doubt is that the tribunal’s ruling
continues to puzzle many close watchers of events in
the state especially with the fact that not a single
candidate in the PDP even went to court to challenge
Architect Ishaku’s emergence as the PDP flag-bearer
to contest the April 11 election! In the first run of the
election, Ishaku scored 317,198 votes while the APC’s
Alhassan polled 262,386. The difference between the
votes of both candidates was 54,812. Over 100,000
potential votes were cancelled at some polling units.
However, INEC, through its Returning Officer for the
election in the state, Prof. Muhammad Kariey, on
April 13, declared it inconclusive and announced
there would be a supplementary election within 30
days. INEC specifically said it took the position
following its discovery that the total number of votes
rejected and cancelled was more than the total votes
with which Ishaku led the runner-up, Hajia Alhassan.
Of course, INEC’s position made sense and Ishaku
had no cause to argue against it despite the fact that
he was leading.
The electoral body, through its Head of Public Affairs
in the state, Fabian Yame, later announced April 25
as date for the runoff which held in Donga local
government area of the state, and some polling units
in Bali, Karim Lamido, Takum, Ussa, Wukari, Yorro
and Zing. INEC eventually declared Architect Ishaku
the clear winner of the election with 369,318 votes to
the APC’s Alhassan who scored 275,984 votes. The
victory thus cleared the coast for him to commence
his mission of rescuing and rebuilding Taraba State
while seeking to position it as a state to watch in the
north east geopolitical zone of the country.
Indeed, immediately he was sworn in on May 29,
Architect Ishaku promised to be the governor of all
Tarabans and asked for the cooperation of people in
the quest to move the state forward. He pointed out
some achievements of former Governor Danbaba
Suntai and promised to continue from where Suntai
stopped. He equally urged the people to set aside all
political, religious and ethnic differences and unite
to move the state forward.
Towards tackling crime as well as religious and
ethnic crises in the state, he promised that his
government would introduce community policing
aside urging civil servants in the state to be guided
by the rules, adding that more is demanded from
them.
Understanding that the task of rebuilding Taraba
cannot be delivered by him and his commissioners
alone, Governor Ishaku expressed his intention to
work with traditional rulers in the state and always
seek their fatherly advice on critical issues. A
genuine patriot that he is, and ever ready to commit
his all in serving his people, Governor Ishaku also
galvanised Tarabans and called on them to ask
themselves what they will offer to the state rather
than what the state will do for them. With all
stakeholders in the state working together, he added
that the job of rebuilding Taraba would be easier
and achieved faster.
That’s why despite the November 7 tribunal ruling,
Governor Ishaku appealed for calm and called on
the citizens of the state to remain peaceful even as
he expressed his decision to appeal the tribunal’s
ruling towards upholding the mandate freely given
to him.
However, it’s clear that the governor is not losing any
sleep on the matter. Already, his party, the PDP,
through its acting national chairman, Mr. Uche
Secondus, has expressed its support for him in the
quest to ensure that his electoral mandate is not
tampered with. The party decided to appeal the
judgment. The party chairman stated that the PDP
followed every stage of the Electoral Act and the
party’s guideline in the submission of the name of
the governor and his deputy to the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC), and said they
were not rejected while expressing shock at the
ground of the nullification of the election.
–Ikpechi wrote in from Jalingo


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