Despite Court Ruling, Kano Assembly Insists On Holding LG Polls

The Kano State House of Assembly has affirmed that local government elections will proceed as scheduled on Saturday, October 26, 2024, despite a Federal High Court order barring the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) from conducting the polls.

The position of the House followed a ruling on Tuesday by Justice Simon Amobeda of the Federal High Court in Kano, disqualifying the KANSIEC chairman and other members of the Commission due to their political affiliations.

However, the Kano State government expressed its determination to hold the elections regardless of availability of the police or other security agencies to provide protection during the exercise.

Majority Leader of the Assembly, Lawan Hussaini Dala criticised the court’s ruling, arguing that it contradicts an earlier decision by Justice Nura Ma’aji, who issued an order preventing 19 political parties, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), from challenging the elections.

“The Federal Court’s decision to remove the head of the Independent Electoral Commission is in conflict with Justice Ma’aji’s ruling, which stops political parties from interfering with the elections,” Dala stated.

He added that a Supreme Court ruling mandates that all states must hold their local government elections by the end of October, further justifying Kano’s decision to proceed.

“We anticipated this outcome and already have measures in place to ensure the elections go as planned. Conducting the election does not violate the law,” he affirmed.

Dala also called on young party loyalists to provide security during the elections.

LEADERSHIP reports the political parties had previously opposed the high fees initially set by KANSIEC for chairmanship and councillorship candidates at N10 million and N5 million respectively.

However, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja intervened, restraining KANSIEC from enforcing the fees which the commission reduced to N9 million and N4 million for candidates hoping to vie for the two offices.

In response, the Kano High Court granted an ex parte order on September 24, 2024, restraining the political parties from obstructing KANSIEC ahead of the elections.

This ruling has allowed the commission to proceed with preparations for the election despite the grouse by the parties.