* Bala Mohammed

A civil society group, the Coalition of Civil Societies and Media Executives for Good Governance in Nigeria, (COCMEGG), has joined issues with Bauchi State governor, Mohammed Abubakar and the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC over what it described as an "illegal, mendacious, unpopular and vile attempt to truncate the will of  the people by using back door judicial process to thwart the popular will of the people who voted massively for the PDP governorship candidate Senator Bala Mohammed  during  the March 9, 2019 gubernatorial elections."

In a press statement made available to journalists in Bauchi, Secretary of  COCMEGG, Comrade James Okoronkwo, and Publicity Officer Mr. Gabriel Gwajime,  lamented that the APC candidate and incumbent governor of Bauchi Statem  Mohammed Abubakar in utter contempt and disregard of the Electoral Act ran to the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Inyang Ekwo to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from collating the results of Tafawa BAlewa LGA against the will of good people of Bauchi State  who voted him out of office recently.

"It is an incontestable fact that only the Election Petitions Tribunal is lawfully empowered to entertain all matters relating to the collation and announcement of election results. We maintain that the court action by the incumbent governor was targeted at stopping INEC from performing her lawful duties and that none of the voting populace of Bauchi state will be disenfranchised in the elections having concluded it", the statement read/

Furthermore, COCMEGG stated that contrary to the APC candidate in his submissions, the power to conclude the collation from Tafawa Balewa LGA was based on figures that were contained in the duplicate of the result of the election and since INEC has resolved to collate the results, only an Elections Petitions Tribunal has the constitutional power to review the decision.

The group maintain that the governor of Bauchi State having lost the elections due to his high-handedness and obtuse politics, the people of Bauchi State overwhelmingly decided to vote him out of office for his anti-people programs and policies. Gov. Mohammed Abubakar is not in touch with the grassroots; he is elitist and has virtually no projects on ground to show for his wasted years in office.

Concluding, COCCMEGG  urged the judiciary not to be used in mortgaging the future and aspirations of the good people of Bauchi State who has  amply demonstrated their revulsion against the misrule of Muhammed Abubakar.