Kogi LG Poll: Opposition, Observers Cry Foul As APC Clinches All 21 Chairmanship, 239 Councillorship Seats

Opposition parties and election observers have faulted the conduct of Saturday’s local government elections in Kogi State, alleging irregularities, inadequate election materials and widespread disenfranchisement, despite the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) winning all 21 chairmanship seats and 239 councillorship positions.

While the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission (KOSIEC) and APC leaders have defended the exercise as credible, peaceful and transparent, opposition parties described the poll as a sham, insisting that the outcome did not reflect the wishes and aspirations of the electorate.

Speaking in Lokoja, a member of the Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Babangida Rimi, described the election as a “kangaroo election” and said his party would challenge the outcome in court.

“Can you imagine that none of our councillors voted in the election because there were no voting materials? They deliberately decided not to bring them to the polling units because they knew they were not on the ground in those areas,” he alleged.

Rimi described the election conducted by KOSIEC as a shame to the APC and an embarrassment to the people of Kogi State, arguing that voters were denied the opportunity to elect their representatives.

“The people have been denied the opportunity of electing their representatives. This is selection, not election,” he maintained.

Similarly, the ADC chairman in Lokoja Local Government Area, Muhammed Hadi Lawal, expressed shock over the conduct of the poll, alleging that election materials were supplied to only one polling unit in Ward A, while the remaining nine wards in the council area were allegedly left without materials.

“Lokoja has 10 electoral wards. They only took materials to one unit in Ward A. There were no materials in the units in the remaining nine wards. This is disappointing and very unfortunate,” he said.

He lamented that the alleged absence of election materials had frustrated voters who turned out in large numbers to exercise their franchise.

“This kind of thing is not good for our democracy. The people came out in large numbers to exercise their franchise, but unfortunately, KOSIEC denied them that opportunity. This is frustrating and discouraging,” he added.

In a similar reaction, the Kogi State chairman of the Zenith Labour Party, Muhammed Kabir, who spoke through a telephone interview, described the exercise as a selection process rather than an election.

“This has been the usual practice of ruling parties. It is very unfortunate. They are only deceiving themselves into thinking that there are no other parties besides the APC.

“When normal elections are conducted, they will know that there are other parties, even stronger than they could imagine,” he said.

Kabir added that the opposition parties’ decision not to challenge the process should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its credibility.

“That we are not challenging the process does not validate what they have done. In simple terms, there was no election, and what happened on Saturday cannot pass for an election. It was simply a selection process,” he said.

Also speaking, the Executive Director of the Renaissance Care and Empowerment Foundation (RECEF), Ambassador Idris Ozovehe Muraina, called on the state electoral commission to improve its handling of local government elections.

Muraina said observers deployed by the organisation across the state reported the absence of election materials in some polling units, warning that the situation could disenfranchise eligible voters.

“Our observers who monitored the elections across the state noticed that election materials were absent in some polling units. This is not good. KOSIEC needs to improve its handling of local government elections in the state,” he said.

Although he acknowledged that the exercise was better than previous local government elections in the state, Muraina stressed that more needed to be done to strengthen the electoral process to enhance citizens’ confidence in the process

“Even though this was better than the previous local government elections, they need to do better; this will help to build the confidence of the people in the entire system,” he added.

The allegations by opposition parties and election observers stand in sharp contrast to the positions of the state government and the electoral commission, both of which have commended the conduct of the exercise.

Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo had described the election as free, fair and transparent, attributing its peaceful conduct to improved security arrangements in the state.

The Deputy Governor, Comrade Joel Salifu, who voted at Polling Unit 10, Egwubi, in Ofu Local Government Area, also described the exercise as seamless, transparent and credible.

Salifu expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the poll and commended KOSIEC for ensuring what he described as a smooth and hitch-free exercise.

Similarly, the KOSIEC Chairman, Mamman Nda-Eri, gave the commission a pass mark for its preparations and conduct of the election.

He said the commission was guided by the principle that the will of the electorate, freely expressed through the ballot, must be respected.

“From the commencement of preparations for these elections, the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission remained guided by one fundamental principle: the will of the people, freely expressed through the ballot, must be respected.

“Our responsibility as an electoral management body is not to decide who wins or loses, but to provide a fair, transparent and credible process through which the electorate can make their choices,” Eri said.