I didn’t lose election… I was robbed, says Shehu Sani

Shehu Sani, senator representing Kaduna central, says he was robbed of his mandate at the February 23 national assembly election.

Sani contested the senatorial seat under the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) but lost to Uba Sani, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Uba polled 355,242 votes ahead of the his 70,613 votes.

The lawmaker had emerged as senator on the platform of the APC in 2015 but defected to PRP when he lost the party’s senatorial ticket.

Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television Programme, Sani said there were cases where ballot papers were available for the presidential and house of representatives election, but no ballot papers for the senate.

“I don’t think I lost that election because you oddly lose an election when it is free, fair, and credible,” Sani said.

“When it is a robbery, it is either you are robbed, or you robbed, and in that case; I was robbed. There was virtually no credible national assembly election in Kaduna.

“They stuffed ballots, they thumb printed, there was over voting, and the card readers in many places never worked.

“The story of Kaduna national assembly election was not different from what happened in other places where it was confirmed by the observers, and even other opposition parties, that the elections in Kaduna, as far as the national assembly election, was simply false.”

He also accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of conniving with the state government and the ruling APC in the state.

However, he said there were video clips and other evidence which his party would present to the election petition tribunal in the bid to reclaim the mandate.