In Taraba, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) emerged victorious in all chairmanship positions following the recently concluded local government council election held on Saturday.
Philip Duwe, the chairman of the Taraba State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC), announced these results on Sunday during the declaration held at the commission’s headquarters in Jalingo.
Revealing details of the electoral outcomes, Duwe informed the public that six political parties participated in the contest for both chairmanship and councillorship positions across the state’s 16 Local Government Areas (LGAs).
Furthermore, he clarified that the results of the 165 contested councilorship seats were officially declared in their respective LGAs.
“This election was keenly contested by six political parties and the PDP has won overwhelmingly from the results here declared,” he said.
The results announced at the local government collation centres are legally valid and what we are doing is just to validate what has been announced.
“We are very grateful to the media for the objective coverage from the onset of this journey to this point.
“Despite the hard times, you have shown absolute commitment and resilience. You have served your fatherland excellently and you can hold your shoulders high.”
Duwe added that the commission would study reports of the electoral process from various quarters for a better performance in future.
“To assert credibility, we must get as much observation and criticisms of what we are doing and suggestions of ways we can improve,” he said.
“I led a team of highly respected journalists, election observers and other people to a polling unit and we did not see any election activity happening.
“This should tell you that we did not teleguide anything. Otherwise, I would not have led a team to such a place. So I must admit that this is a process and you can not have absolute control over anything.”
He urged those who lost at the poll to be patient, saying everyone has a duty to sustain the peace in the state.
“Those who have won, this may be your good day but be humble and grateful in victory. If you have lost, it could be a bad day but the bad days will expire. Be prayerful and focused,” he said.
