PDP Women in Lafia protest over the March 18th gubernatorial election.

No fewer than 500 women from 13 local government areas of Nasarawa State stormed Lafia, the state capital, dressed in all-black, demanding that the state’s governorship election on Saturday be canceled after Abdullahi Sule of the APC defeated David Ombugadu and other PDP candidates.

Stella Oboshi, the PDP’s state women’s leader, led women from the party and other political parties in a nonviolent demonstration calling for the annulment of the election.

She clarified that the protest was initiated because INEC had declared a winner of the governorship race despite there being disagreement over the results from the state capital’s Gayam and Ciroma electoral districts.

Oboshi’s words were, “What we are doing today is a peaceful protest and it is allowed in a democracy. The reason for our protest is that in Nasarawa State, two electoral wards cannot hold the whole state to ransom.

“The governorship election and that of the House of Assembly were done the same day, the same time and with the same election materials. But the governorship election was announced, and that of the House of Assembly has not been announced up till this moment because it was declared inconclusive.

“If Gayam and Ciroma electoral wards results from Lafia LGA were included in the results that INEC announced for the governorship election but the Assembly elections were inconclusive in the same wards, then INEC should also declare the governorship election inconclusive so that we can start from afresh.”

She urged PDP and other opposition party supporters in the state to maintain their composure while expressing hope that INEC will act appropriately by deeming the already declared governorship election inconclusive.