In Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State, women have resumed protests over perceived injustice in the governorship election, focusing on the alleged mistreatment of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, David Ombugadu.
The Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal had earlier nullified Governor Abdullahi Sule’s victory, declaring Ombugadu as the rightful winner on October 2. Dissatisfied with the ruling, Sule pursued the matter to the Court of Appeal, where he was subsequently declared the victor.
Expressing their grievances to journalists in Lafia on Tuesday, the leader of the protesting women, Hanatu John, emphasized the essence of democracy being rooted in popular votes. She questioned why the candidate with the highest votes would not be declared the winner and decried the heightened insecurity in the state, hindering residents from accessing their farmlands. John appealed to the Supreme Court for a just resolution and called on President Bola Tinubu and the international community to intervene in order to safeguard democracy in the state and the nation at large.
John stated, “We started this week’s protest on Monday, December 25, because celebrating Christmas seems void when our mandate was stolen from us. We have been here since March protesting what we described as electoral injustice.”
Margaret Alu, another protester, echoed the sentiments, expressing the anguish felt since Governor Sule was declared the winner in the March 18 governorship election. Alu emphasized the need for justice and vowed that the protests would persist until their mandate was restored.
Dressed in black attires, the women wielded placards with messages such as “Count Every Vote: Protect Democracy in Nasarawa State,” “Bring back our mandate: Our votes are our Rights,” and “Our farms are not safe, our husbands are killed, widows are raped,” among others. The ongoing demonstrations underscore the intensity of their call for a fair resolution of the election dispute.