Skip to main content

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...

Comments

  1. Adams BB14 May 2018 at 13:35

    Manyan nijeriya, rana na zuwa!
    In kun yi da kyao, rana na zuwa!
    In kun yi mara kyao, rana na zuwa!
    Allah kiyaye na gaba

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Terrorists are all over, not only Southern Kaduna'

-Governor Nasir el-Rufai el-Rufai addressing Journalists in Hausa after a security meeting on Southern Kaduna By DANGWA DANJUMA G overnor Ahmed Nasir el-Rufai has admitted that terrorists are everywhere in Kaduna state, not only in the troubled Southern Kaduna, disclosing that miscreants have taken to the social media space to promote what he called disturbing and further aggravating the worsening situation situation with religious and ethnic colouration. Speaking to newsmen in Hausa, after a meeting with security officials, el-Rufai said that miscreants from Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and outside Nigeria are trying to insinuate that the Southern Kaduna killings is ethnic and religious even going as far as asking people to take the law into their hands. While maintaining that these people would be brought to book, he tasked traditional leaders, religious leaders and political office holders in the state to speak the truth about the happenings as failing to do so wo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Community Participation in Governance: Kaduna APGA Councilor breaks new grounds

 A cross-section of constituents of Sabon Tasha ward, listening with rapt attention to resource persons at the event S trengthening community and rural participation in governance has been identified as the right step towards providing the much needed social infrastructure at the local government level in Kaduna state. This is the standpoint of Hon. Kogi James Ganaka, currently holding sway as the Councilor of Sabon Tasha, one of biggest wards in Kaduna state. Ganaka, who came into light during the last local government elections in the state, when he decamped from the Peoples' Democratic Party(PDP) to the All Progressives Grand Alliance(APGA), to clinch the seat, following the advice of his teeming supporters, is very passionate about improving the lot of his people.  Remarked one of his constituents: "We are very proud of him. He is the only councilor that I know who has established a constituency office in the entire jurisdiction. He is determined to provide div...
Post a Comment
Read more

NEWS FEATURE: Governor el-Rufai and the Sanctity of the Ballot

el-Rufai: Voting at his polling unit  BY NASIRU JAGABA  F irst of all, let me start by congratulating the Citizens of Kaduna State, for violence free election in the local government polls. The peaceful conduct of the citizens in Kaduna despite the happenings that had shown clearly the desperation of persons in the corridor of power to manipulate, overturn the result refused to give in to the chaos but rather responded with all sense of maturity and confidence in the sanctity of the ballot. Had Kaduna responded in similar desperation as shown by the institutional riggers, perhaps curfew would have been slammed in several areas which would have created the perfect cover for the malpractices to happen. The hate speeches and incitement from the top government officials in Kaduna state government did not end on the platforms for the campaigns alone but went further to reflect in the exercise that held. There are several accounts going round about thugs accompanyin...
1 comment
Read more

Lere agog over unprecedented people-oriented projects

Council Chairman(middle), flanked by dignitaries at the event N o fewer than 108 projects and programs in the Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna state are currently at 98% completion stages, a development citizens of the area attribute to the Council Chairman's determination and desire to put the people first, no matter whose ox is gored. Chairman of the council, Alhaji Abubakar Buba, who dropped the hint at the 2019 Quarterly Budget Performance Review town hall meeting with stakeholders in Saminaka, Kaduna state, commended the Kaduna state governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai for aggressively creating the desired environment  for societal growth - by initiating strategic and people-focused governance reforms at both state and local government levels. "Upon my assumption of office one year ago, we immediately keyed into the governance reform initiatives of the state government which were all geared towards putting the people first. We met on ground various far r...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why States may be unable to pay new minimum wage -Commissioner

Citizens listening with rapt attention  By YUSUF GOJE C ommissioner, Planning and Budget Commission Kaduna state, Mohammed  Sani Dattijo has queried the rationale behind the proposed upward review  of the minimum wage, which he said compels even states that are not  viable to play ball. Making the assertion at the  recently concluded Citizens' Consultation forum on Medium Term Expenditure Framework 2019-2021  held in Kaduna, Dattijo said:"The minimum wage should be moved from the  exclusive to the concurrent list, even though Kaduna state is  healthier than most states, there are states that cannot afford the  increase in minimum wage. If this is not done, the increase in minimum wage will only be on paper but difficult to implement by many states, resulting in labor disputes". He stressed that the exclusiveness of this piece of  legislation which empowers only the Federal government to de...
Post a Comment
Read more