Maku Demands INEC Office Shutdown Over Nasarawa Senatorial Election Rigging Allegations

Timescope News 

Labaran Maku, the Labour Party candidate for the Nasarawa North Senatorial bye-election, has called for the immediate closure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Nasarawa State, alleging widespread electoral fraud during the recently concluded poll.

Maku made the demand during a press conference at his residence in Akpata, Akun Development Area, on Sunday, responding to INEC's declaration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate as the winner of the contest.

The former Minister of Information accused the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner and other staff members of colluding with the state government to rig the election in favour of the ruling party.

"INEC deliberately programmed the BVAS machines to malfunction so the election could be conducted manually. The persistent BVAS failures allowed them to inflate vote figures in favour of the APC and PDP, because they are working together," Maku alleged.

He cited specific wards—including Umme, Igah, Burumburum, and Alushi Waku in Nasarawa Eggon—where, according to him, no voting took place, yet INEC allocated substantial vote counts to the APC.

"What INEC did is a national embarrassment. I am urging the Federal Government to shut down the INEC office in Nasarawa State and investigate thoroughly, because they compromised with the government to rig every election in Nasarawa. We have been experiencing this for a long time," Maku said.

The Labour Party candidate appealed for calm and asked his supporters to await further directives from the party leadership.

Describing the bye-election as worse than previous polls, Maku expressed gratitude to those who backed his campaign with resources, including Jonathan Gaza (member representing Karu, Keffi, and Kokona Federal Constituency), Labour Party governorship candidate Silas Agara, and former Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu, for collapsing their political structures to support his ambition.

Collation agents of the Labour Party in Akwanga, Nasarawa Eggon, and Wamba Local Government Areas corroborated Maku's claims, testifying that they witnessed large-scale rigging across the three LGAs. They lamented the BVAS failures that forced the adoption of manual voting, despite their objections.

"How can INEC stand against its own rules? They brought out the election guidelines but still broke them," one agent stated.

Also present at the event was the Labour Party Campaign Council, led by former Nasarawa State PDP chairman Adamu Ninga, which decried what it described as INEC's shoddy handling of the electoral process.