Kehinde Fajobi
The Kaduna State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Edward Masha, alleged significant irregularities in the October 19 local government elections across the state’s 23 local government areas.
The elections were conducted by the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (SIECOM), which declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) winners.
SIECOM Chairman Hajara Mohammed announced that the APC secured all 23 chairmanship positions and 255 councillorship seats.
“I hereby confirm the results earlier collected and returned by the returning officers,” she said. “The APC won the 23 local government chairmanship positions and the 255 wards councillorship positions across the state.”
In contrast, Masha voiced the PDP’s dissatisfaction during a press briefing, citing the absence of essential materials, particularly the ward and local government result sheets, which he argued compromised the election’s transparency.
“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,” Masha stated.
Accusing the APC of “killing democracy,” Masha said, “They appointed their chairmanship candidates, knowing fully well that local government elections are the foundation of democracy.”
He further emphasised that the PDP will challenge the outcome in court, vowing, “We will not accept this charade… We will continue to seek justice for our people.”
He also claimed several anomalies during the election process, including the use of polling unit result sheets from 2021 rather than new ones and a lack of fair distribution of electoral materials.
“The Kaduna State Government assured us that all electoral materials would be provided, but the reverse is true,” Masha added. “This is a deliberate attempt to undermine democracy.”
Calling the situation “a deliberate assault on democracy,” Masha urged PDP supporters not to lose hope, promising to continue fighting for justice.
“We will not give up,” he said.