All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate at the last Saturday Niger East by-election declared inconclusive by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Barrister David Umaru said he is set for the supplementary election.
Umaru at a post election press conference at the party secretariat in Minna yesterday said he was shocked by the level of malpractices that characterised the by-election, alleging that it was marred with snatching of ballot boxes and other electoral irregularities of the past.
The APC candidate appealed to his supporters and party members to remain calm in the face of any provocation by the ruling party.
He maintained that the outcome of the election will not deter his conviction and faith in democracy.
According to Umaru, "We are committed to the journey in search of the truth. The unfortunate incident cannot make us to relent or deter us. We and the party are committed to putting up a good fight. We will take part in the supplementary election on Saturday and victory shall be ours at the end of the day".
He expressed concern over the electoral malpractices during the by-election which he said took the state back to the dark days of democratic practice.
"I was quiet hopeful of a flawless exercise at the beginning but as the day went on, event turned sour as we begin to see ugly incidence of the past. We begin to see what we were used to".
He however advised his supporters not to be disappointed as he was sure of victory at the supplementary election in the contentious 7 units in the district on Saturday.
Sent in by Jide Orintunsin from Minna
