By Leshi Adebayo
The bye-election held in Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency, Plateau State may have come and gone — with a winner, and of course, losers. There are, however, key lessons from the exercise.
Reflecting on the outcomes of the election, the founder of Daily Nigeria online newspaper, Ja’afar Ja’afar, in a recent Facebook post, noted how the candidate of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Adam Alkali lost despite his acclaimed fetish powers.
According to the journalist, Alkali holds a reputation as a famous Mallam known for his fetish capabilities, and over the years, has provided charms, prayers for electoral victories to a wealthy clientele of Nigerian politicians. Unfortunately for him, he could not achieve the same feat for himself at the Jos bye-election on Saturday.
The self-styled powerful Mallam suffered a narrow defeat by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Musa Aga who happens to the current member representing Irigwe/Rukuba Constituency in the Plateau State House of Assembly.
How the election went
In the keenly contested election, Alkali polled 37,757 votes to come second, behind Aga who scored 40,343 votes — with a difference of just 2,586 votes. While Joseph Abbey Aku of the All Progressives Congress had a total of 26,111 votes.
“Musa Agah Avia of the PDP, having satisfied the requirement of the law, is hereby declared winner of the election and returned elected,” said the INEC returning officer, Oyeyinka Oyerinde.
What is next for the politician?
Unsatisfied with his loss, the PRP candidate has taken steps to challenge the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the election tribunal.
Addressing journalists on Monday, Alkali claimed that his victory was overturned, saying he got the majority of lawful votes compared to the declared winner.
Now, Alkali is on a mission to reclaim is supposed ‘subverted victory’ at all costs. Time will definitely tell what the future holds for his political career. However, one thing is certain: no Nigerian politician, no matter how powerful, is immune to defeat. Wonders shall never end in the Nigerian political space.
