The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has rejected the outcome of the Nasarawa North Senatorial District by-election, calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the exercise and conduct a fresh poll over alleged irregularities.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its Publicity Secretary, Danjuma Joseph, the party alleged widespread flaws in the conduct of the election, including issues it said undermined the credibility of the process.
The by-election, conducted by Independent National Electoral Commission, was held to fill the vacant Nasarawa North Senatorial seat following the death of former lawmaker, Senator Godiya Akwashiki.
The party claimed that its logo was omitted from official election materials despite being a registered participant, alleging that a different symbol appeared on the ballot paper, which it said may have confused voters.
It further alleged that its logo was also missing from result sheets used during collation, and that its agents were not allowed to append signatures at ward, local government, and state levels.
According to the statement, the party also raised concerns over malfunctioning Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices in several polling units, which it said affected voter accreditation and the integrity of the process.
The NDC also alleged instances of result manipulation and mutilation in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, though it did not provide specific documentary evidence to support the claims.
Citing these concerns, the party declared that it does not recognise the outcome of the election and will challenge the process through legal channels.
“Given these irregularities, the NDC rejects the conduct of the by-election in Nasarawa North and will pursue legal options to protect our democratic rights and the will of our supporters,” the statement said.
INEC has yet to officially respond to the allegations at the time of filing this report.