Mix reactions trail Kaduna LG Elections

Voters in Jema'a follow results to collation Centre at Kafanchan

By Dangwa Danjuma 

Twenty-four hours after closure of balloting in the Saturday May 12, polls in the state, Returning Officers in some of the LG areas are no where to be found.

Cubinks investigations reveal  that election results for all the 255 wards of all the Local Government  areas would  have been collated before now, were it not for the absence of the runaway  Returning Officers.

"The returning officers have left election officials, party agents with tensed voters stranded at polling units; and are nowhere to be found. In Jema’a, 5 wards namely Aso, Atukun, Badeh, Takau and Maigizo have turned in their results to the Local Government collation Centre and could not find the Local Government returning officer to receive the result",  fumed one of  the frustrated voters.

Our Correspondent gathered  that the situation is not different in Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Kaduna South local government areas of the state. "There is clearly efforts by some powers that be to use the security forces, returning officers and the electoral commission to overturn the results from the polling unit”, disclosed a voter who had followed votes to the collation centre.

One of the  chairmanship candidates revealed "that the results are still in the hands of electoral officials from the polling units and are currently waiting to handover to the returning officers who are nowhere to be found",

“The results from the polling units are already in hand and there is no way anyone can manipulate the process now that the polls have closed, we are waiting for the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission to conclude the processes and announce the results as the people have decided", stated one party agent.

There are indications that all may not have gone well with the outcome of the polls for the sitting governor whose party has fielded candidates in the 23 local governments and 255 wards of the state as some observers  believe that the  processes may have turned out differently from the expectations of the governor who had championed the campaign for votes across the 23 LGAs for candidates of the All Progressive Congress.

Speaking to journalists at his polling unit, Kaduna state Governor Malam Nasir el-Rufai, announced the cancellation of the exercise in Jaba and Kaura local governments. Updates from Kaura however indicated differently as results were collated through the night while other results were being awaited.  Reacting to the situation,  a civil rights activist Freeman Jubal Dabo disclosed that  rumours  making the rounds came out from some unscrupulous party agents manipulated by unscrupulous politicians  who had told voters across the Kaura area that the elections for the local government had been canceled even before it began.

In a telephone interview with Cubinks, Chairperson of the state's electoral body Dr. Saratu Binta Dikko-Audu expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the election, debunking allegations that the process was rigged. She also apologized for the absence of a situation room to keep the public abreast of developments. 

As at press time results have been officially announced for 14 of the 23 local governments chairmanship polls including Ikara, Kubau, Soba, Igabi, Sabon Gari, Makarfi, Zaria, Giwa, Lere and Zangon Kataf. At the latest count, APC have won 15 in 15 local governments and PDP won in 4.

Watch out for the full text of our interview with the ChairPerson Kaduna electoral body...