The senator representing the Federal Capital Territory is not taking the outcome of the recent senatorial election lying down. Senator Aduda has vowed to challenge the results that saw the Labour Party candidate, Ireti Kingibe, emerge as the winner.
Speaking to journalists at the National Assembly on Thursday, Senator Aduda expressed his disappointment that the results were declared hastily, even before the results of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) were presented. He also alleged that there was overvoting in some area councils, and that the initial result was cancelled by the returning officer and meant to be rescheduled.
Senator Aduda also expressed surprise that FCT residents could vote for his opponent, who is almost 70 years old, over him, a young 53-year-old. He reminded everyone that he was first elected to the House of Representatives at the age of 33 and to the Senate at the age of 41.
The senator attributed his opponent’s victory to the popularity of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and challenged Ireti Kingibe to provide evidence of any Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects she had undertaken before her election that had alleviated the suffering of the people in Abuja.
In the election, Senator-elect Ireti Kingibe polled 202,175 votes, while Senator Aduda came second with 100,544 votes across the five area councils that make up the Federal Capital Territory. Senator Aduda has been in the National Assembly since 2003 and is currently the Senate Minority Leader.
It remains to be seen whether Senator Aduda’s challenge will be successful, but one thing is clear: he is not going down without a fight.
