Seventy-Two hours to the conduct of local government elections in Kano state, the leading opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has constituted a legal action against the state’s electoral body over alleged inclusion of the party in the January 16 poll.
Addressing newsmen Wednesday, the Chairman of Kwankwaso-led faction of the PDP, Alhaji Shehu Wada Sagagi, said PDP has committed contempt of court against KANSIEC for recognizing the Aminu Wali-led faction of the PDP.
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Sagagi said the Federal High Court in its ruling affirmed the executives of the party led by him, not the other faction led by Alhaji Muhammina Bako Lamido.
The PDP chairman said the party headed to court in order to put the records straight, insisting that KANSIEC should not recognise the Lamido-led group if to abide by the court judgment.
He said the KANSIEC chairman was either ignorant of laws or he just wanted to mock the people of Kano, noting that Aminu Wali’s faction which decided to participate in the coming election had earlier gone to court and lost the legal battle.
“We went to court to know whether KANSIEC has the right to accept a candidate other than the one from the legally recognised executive of the party. This is what we want the court to determine,” he concluded.
Daily Telescope observed that the PDP’s legal action against the electoral body came shortly after the Chairman of the Commission, Professor Garba Ibrahim Sheka announced inclusion of the party in the forthcoming election.
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Professor Sheka, who made the pronouncement at a sensitization programme for Civil Society Election Observers held at Mambayya House, said PDP was among the 12 political parties contesting in the poll.
“A faction of the party has fielded its candidates for both chairmanship and councillorship respectively. We have not received notice from any political party boycotting the election.
However, Sagagi, the factional leader of Kwankwaso-led faction of PDP, who insisted on boycotting the election, said his group had notified the state electoral body of its decision to pull out from the poll.
He said: “I was surprised when the chairman of the electoral body said no political party has notified the commission of its decision to boycott the poll. Our notification letter dated 1st December 2020, signed by Hon Danladi Umar Abdulhameed, chairman of Kano PDP caretaker committee, was received and acknowledged by Prof Sheka on the 2nd
December 2020.”
A copy of the letter obtained by Daily Telescope reads in part “The PDP reminiscence of the conduct of the Ganduje-led administration during the 2019 general elections, have carefully studied the process and come to conclusion that the regime has grossly undermined the
independence of the Kano state Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC).
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“The PDP and indeed the people of Kano cannot forget how the governor and APC, in connivance with electoral officials used hoodlums and political thugs as well as security agents to intimidate voters and disenfranchise the populace during the 2019 general election that fraudulently brought the administration into office by also
manipulating the judiciary.
“…Therefore, for the purpose of forestalling electoral violence, waste of the state resources and a mockery of democracy, we have resolved to withdraw from the Local Government Elections slated for January 16, 2021,” the letter indicated.
