PDP vows legal challenge as APC clears Kaduna, Kogi LGs
The Peoples Democratic Party has alleged gross irregularities in the conduct of the local government elections held across the 23 local government areas of Kaduna State and promised to challenge the process in court.
The party also kicked against the conduct of the elections in Kogi State, while the Social Democratic party called for the arrest and immediate prosecution of the commission’s chairman in the state.
The Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission and the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission conducted the local government elections across the councils in the states on Saturday, October 19, 2024.
In the elections, KAD-SIECOM declared the All Progressives Congress candidates winners of 23 chairmanship positions and 255 councillorship positions.
The KAD-SIECOM’s Chairman, Hajiya Hajara Mohammed, while declaring the results, said the elections saw eight political parties participating, with the APC winning 23 chairmanship positions and 255 councillorship positions.
“By the power vested on the commission, I hereby wish to confirm the results earlier collected and returned by the returning officers. I am confirming these results as follows; APC won the 23 local government chairmanship positions and the 255 wards councillorship positions across the state,” she declared.
Also, KOSIEC, which declared the election free, fair and credible, announced that the APC won 21 chairmanship seats and 239 councillorship slots.
The Chairman of KOSIEC, Mr Mamman Nda-Eri, while announcing the results in Lokoja, said “APC performed excellently; it cleared all the chairmanship and councillorship positions, leaving nothing to the other 18 political parties that took part in the election.
“As Chairman of KOSIEC, I hereby confirm the results collated and returned by the Returning Officers.”
The Kaduna State Chairman of the PDP, Edward Masha, alleged gross irregularities.
Masha, a former Commissioner of Water Resources in Kaduna State, while addressing journalists on the outcome of the poll, expressed concerns over the exclusion of crucial materials, specifically ward and local government result sheets, from the electoral process.
“We were invited by SIECOM to receive sensitive materials from the Central Bank of Nigeria but, upon inspection, we discovered that the result sheets were missing.
“This omission compromised the integrity of the elections, and our representatives stood against the impunity,” Masha said.
He accused the ruling APC of killing democracy and undermining the electoral process.
“The APC has appointed its chairmanship candidates for the poll, knowing fully well that local government elections are the bedrock of democracy.
“But today, they said no. We will appoint chairmen for us like sole administrators by the government,” he added.
He said the PDP would challenge the process in court and continue to seek justice for the people.
“We will not accept this charade. We will not accept the killing of democracy. We will challenge this process in court, and we will continue to seek justice for our people,” he said.
Masha urged lovers of democracy and security agencies to take note of the situation, saying “Kaduna State is sick, and democracy is gone. We need to bring this to the public’s attention and demand justice.”
The PDP chairman also called on party members and supporters not to be discouraged, adding that, “We will continue to fight for democracy and justice. We will not give up.”
The Social Democratic party, SDP has called for an arrest and immediate prosecution of the Kogi state independent electoral commission Chairman.
Reacting to the elections held across Kogi State, the Director of Media to the Muri/Sam Campaign Organisation, David Ijele, in a statement on Sunday, said that the KOSIEC chairman should be arrested and prosecuted for perpetrating illegality.
“There was no election yesterday. It was just a charade to make a caricature of the electoral process as a smaller version of INEC.
“Since the government of the day is not ready to honour the people, then lawlessness will be at its peak in any subsequent election and 2027 will be a bloodbath because we can’t continue like this as a nation. We must rescue this country,” Ijele said.
Governor Usman Ododo, however, lauded KOSIEC for conducting a free, fair and credible election.
Ododo also gave kudos to the people for their peaceful conduct during and after the election.
